Chinese National Attempts to Trespass at Mar-a-Lago After Election
A Chinese national was arrested for trespassing at President-elect Donald Trump 's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Zijie Li, 39, was arrested on Thursday on charges of trespassing after warning. Li had previously been arrested for trying to get into Trump's home.
Court records obtained by Newsweek show that Li, who lives in California, was taken into custody by the Palm Beach Police Department around 5:15 p.m. on Thursday after he was dropped off at the location by an Uber . Members of the Secret Service, Mar-a-Lago security, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office were already stationed at Trump's home.
Li remained in custody at the Palm Beach County Jail on Friday morning. Circuit Judge Donald Hafele set his bail at $100,000.
Li's visit to Mar-a-Lago came on the same day as he was released from a mental health detention, according to the Palm Beach Police Department.
Captain Will Rothrock, the Palm Beach Police Department's PIO, told Newsweek that "this is an open case with the State Attorney's Office" and his department does "not have any comments at this time."
Li was also arrested in July after repeatedly trying to get into Mar-a-Lago. On July 19, Li was issued a trespassing warning and told not to return, or he would be arrested. The arrest report, however, indicates that Li was seen in Palm Beach on July 30 "placing paperwork referencing" Trump on vehicles.
On July 31, Li was arrested for reportedly "attempting to gain assistance for a resident to enter Mar-a-Lago."
"Li asked if the resident was a member of Mar-a-Lago and if she would be willing to drive him onto Mar-a-Lago in her vehicle," the police report reads.
Another police document from October 30 shows that a caller said that "an Asian male wearing a white shirt and shorts and carrying a white backpack asked her if he could hide in her vehicle in order to get to Mar-a-Lago."
At the time, Li told Secret Service agents he had documents showing China was involved in the July assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. At the rally, a 20-year-old gunman fired shots at Trump while he was speaking onstage, grazing the then-presidential candidate's right ear. One spectator was killed, and two others were injured.
Li was handcuffed and transported for medical treatment and assessment.
This was not the first time a Chinese intruder tried to enter Trump's property. Chinese businesswoman Yujing Zhang served an eight-month prison sentence and was later deported after she was caught trespassing at the Florida club in 2019 in hopes of meeting the then-president.
