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Inside the FIFA Fan Festival in Houston.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tInside the FIFA Fan Festival in Houston.<\/p>\n
On the first day of the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a>, as thousands gathered at the fan festival in East Downtown, John Alexander Meza allegedly began flying a drone.<\/p>\n It was Thursday, June 11 \u2014 a day when no World Cup matches were being played in Houston \u2014 when Meza allegedly began flying a DJI Mavic 3 drone for about 2 minutes. His purpose, he would later tell law enforcement, was to capture video for Houston’s First Baptist Church.<\/p>\n Meza, whose LinkedIn profile labels him as a cinematographer for the church, was flying the drone near the 600 block of Live Oak Street in East Downtown, just a few blocks from the fan fest. Throughout the entirety of the World Cup<\/a>, EaDo was named as a \u201cno drone zone\u201d by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), prohibiting drones from flying within a mile radius of the fan festival up to 1,000 feet in the air. There were more stringent drone restrictions near NRG Stadium on the seven days when World Cup matches were played there.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Hello, Houston!<\/a> daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n When law enforcement found Meza, he allegedly confirmed he had been the drone’s pilot, according to court records obtained by Houston Public Media, which show that he told them he was getting video of Houston’s First Baptist Church. He also said he did not have a remote pilot certificate, nor did he check for airspace beforehand, court records show.<\/p>\n Meza now faces federal charges of violating national defense airspace, punishable by up to a year in prison<\/a> and fines of up to $100,000. Attorneys for Meza did not immediately return a request for comment; nor did Houston’s First Baptist Church.<\/p>\n Meza is one of as many as 16 people now facing the prospect of federal charges for flying drones in restricted airspace during the World Cup. Two others \u2014 Huu An Nguyen Dinh of Pearland and Jordan Lee Zale of Richmond \u2014 were publicly named by Houston’s FBI office, though others were not publicly identified.<\/p>\n Dinh’s attorney attorney declined to comment. Zale’s attorney did not immediately respond. Both told authorities they were flying drones to produce images of real estate, according to court documents. <\/p>\n