A Chinese woman named Yujing Zhang was arrested at Mar-a-Lago for giving false statements to federal agents and entering a restricted building.
Zhang allegedly told a Secret Service agent she was a Mar-a-Lago member and was allowed to use the pool.
“Due to a potential language barrier issue,” staff believed she was related to a club member and let her in.
The Palm Beach Post reported:
Her goal, she told agents, was to try to speak to a member Trump’s family about Chinese-American economic relations. She showed agents an invitation she received to the event. Agents said they were unable to read it because it was written in Chinese.
While agents initially thought a language barrier might have led to confusion about why Zhang visited the club, they later said she had a firm grasp of English.
Agents said they have multiple officers at various checkpoints to assure unauthorized visitors can’t get into Mar-a-Lago. Club members and visitors must pass through a gauntlet of metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs.
“Had Zhang not falsely portrayed herself as a club member seeking to visit the pool, and instead advised she was there to attend the non-existent ‘United Nations Friendship Event’ … her access would have (been) declined by U.S. Secret Service at the preliminary inspection point,” they wrote.
As an aside, they said her first story about wanting to use the pool was an obvious ruse. “No swimming apparel was found in Zhang’s possession or on her person,” agents wrote.
U.S. Secret Service agents said they seized four cell phones, a laptop computer, an external hard drive and one thumb drive from Yujing Zhang. An examination of the thumb drive showed it contained malicious malware, agents said
Ms Zhang – who was described in the affidavit as an “Asian female” – is charged with making false statements to a federal officer and illegally entering a restricted area.
President Trump was in Palm Beach at the time of the incident on Saturday 30 March.
I am glad President Trump has hired his own security in addition to secret service. I do not trust anyone in our government anymore.
