Yujing Zhang, a 32-year-old Chinese woman with passports, was charged of entering President Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday and lying to federal officers about her intentions for being there. She brought a malware-infected device with her, causing renewed security concerns over the safety of Trump’s frequently used “Winter White House.”
While Trump was visiting Mar-a-Lago during the weekend, he departed his resort area for his golf course around 9:37 a.m. and returned at 3:56 p.m. Zhang, however, was reportedly confronted at 12:15 p.m. Mar-a-Lago staff members initially transported the intruder between checkpoints until they realized she wasn’t on the approved guest list. Secret Service responded by quickly arresting her.
Secret Service personnel had intercepted Zhang at various checkpoints, who in turn claimed she was a Mar-a-Lago Club member. She later changed her story after requesting access to the pool, claiming she was visiting the resort to attend a “United Nations Friendship Event” to strengthen the ties between the United States and China.
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According to the criminal complaint file, Zhang claimed she was told to attend the fictional event by her friend Charles, whom she chatted with through WeChat, a popular messaging app in her country. Notably, Zhang was not carrying any swimming apparel on her person, but she was in possession of four cellphones, a laptop, an external hard drive and a thumb drive that was loaded with malicious software.
Zhang is currently being held at the Palm Beach County Detention Center, which is situated in West Palm Beach. Her arraignment is presently scheduled for April 15, and she faces six years behind bars should she be convicted.
