Chinese woman detained for illegally entering President Trump's resort
A Chinese woman, Yujing Zhang, was arrested by the US Secret Service agents after she tried to illegally enter Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Zhang presented multiple stories in an attempt to enter the resort owned by President Donald Trump on Saturday. Multiple cell phones, a thumb drive containing malicious software, and two passports of the People's Republic of China were found in her possession.
Zhang charged for making false statements, entering restricted area
32-year-old Zhang is also charged with making false statements to the federal officers and entering the restricted area, revealed an arrest document in the federal district court of Florida's Palm Beach In the court papers, Agent Samuel Ivanovich wrote that Zhang told him she was there to attend a non-existent UN Chinese-American event and also showed him an invite, which was written in Chinese.
Zhang became aggressive with agents during questioning, says Ivanovich
The Secret Service agent told Zhang that she had "unlawfully gained access onto the protected grounds." Ivanovich said, "During this interview, Zhang then became verbally aggressive with agents and she was detained." She was transported back to the Secret Service office in West Palm Beach.
President trump was playing golf nearby when Zhang entered
The luxurious beach-side resort, Mar-a-Lago, is owned by Trump and is in Palm Beach, a wealthy Atlantic coast city. Although many people visit the resort on weekends to meet friends and play golf, it becomes a restricted building when Trump is visiting. Trump was there last weekend and according to reports, he was playing golf at a nearby course when Zhang tried to enter.
Club's staff confused her with a member's daughter
On March 30, Zhang entered the club premises to take a dip in the pool and presented her passport as an identity at the entry. Her name was not there on the club members' list but the club staff confused her with the daughter a club member. However, she did not give a straight answer when asked about it, indicating a language barrier.
Multiple stories raised suspicion, led to arrest
Once inside, she told the receptionist that she was there to attend a Chinese-American event. Zhang said that she traveled from Shanghai, China, after her friend Charles asked her to attend the event and talk about US-China economic relations to a member of the President's family. Amid her multiple stories, Zhang was detained; agents later found out that she could freely speak in English.
The event was advertised on Chinese-language social media
Meanwhile, the Miami Herald reported that the event was indeed advertised on Chinese-language social media by entrepreneur Li "Cindy" Yang and promoted by a man named Charles Lee. Yang, a member of the club, built and later sold a massage parlor chain in Florida; the parlors were recently raided over prostitution by police. Yang's website features her pictures with Trump's family and other officials.
Zhang will remain under custody till hearing next week
According to the court documents, the Secret Service agents found a laptop, four cell phones, a hard drive, and a thumb drive which contained malware in Zhang's possession. However, no swimsuit was found. Zhang will remain under custody till the hearing next week.
