A safety precaution set up to protect World Cup fans from threats to the sky appears to be capturing commercial photographers who say they were unknowingly violating a no-drone zone while taking pictures for their jobs.

Since the beginning of the World Cup, six men have been charged with federal crimes amid an aerial lockdown over downtown Houston meant to prevent drones from violating the airspace over the city’s FIFA Fan Festival.

But while the temporary no-fly zone was created to protect soccer fans from threats from the sky, most of the men charged in the cases claimed to be flying for mundane reasons unrelated to the tournament, according to federal charging documents reviewed by the Chronicle

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Three of the men said they were using drones to take pictures of properties for real estate purposes, another said that he was inspecting a roof, according to federal charging documents reviewed by the Chronicle. Only one of the men admitted that he was flying the drone for the purpose of filming the Fan Fest, which has attracted thousands of fans to the East Downtown area since the tournament began on June 11.

One man told agents he was “attempting to get drone video footage for his significant other’s real estate business,” according to charging documents. Another was using his drone to capture real estate listing pictures of a residential property for his business, records show.

Each man has been charged with knowingly and willfully violating national defense airspace, according to charging documents. If found guilty, each man faces up to a year in federal prison and a fine of $100,000.

On June 8, the FAA created a one-mile no-fly zone that extends one nautical mile from Shell Energy Stadium. (Coordinates provided in court documents put the center of the zone as the kick-off circle on the stadium’s pitch.)

The boundaries of the zone extend from Gray Street, in the Third Ward, to the banks of Buffalo Bayou and from Travis Street, in the heart of downtown Houston, to North Hutcheson Street, in the middle of the Second Ward. Two of the men were charged over drone flights that happened about a mile away from the stadium and the festival, according to court documents.

According to charging documents, in each case the FBI used tracking tools to find the pilots of the drones and confront them. In each case, the men lacked pilot licenses and admitted that they failed to check for flight restrictions before launching. Some of the drones were unregistered, according to the complaints.

One of the men was allegedly warned about violating the airspace but returned days later, according to the complaint.

According to the FAA, more than 300 drones have been seized after being found flying near one of the 23 U.S.-based World Cup stadiums and fan fests. It’s unclear how many other people have been charged with crimes connected to their drones.

None of the men had listed defense attorneys as of Friday.

The no-fly zone is in place until July 19.

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This article originally published at Houston drone arrests near FIFA Fan Fest tied to real estate jobs, roof work.