Secret Service agents arrested a woman at President Trump’s Florida resort this past weekend after she was found carrying two Chinese passports and a thumb drive with malicious software on it, according to court documents.
Prosecutors allege the woman, Yujing Zhang, first approached a Mar-a-Lago security checkpoint on Saturday shortly after noon and told security officials she was there to go to the swimming pool.
“Zhang was asked if the true member … was her father, but she did not give a definitive answer,” according to the criminal complaint filed by Secret Service special agent Samuel Ivanovich. “Zhang additionally did not give a definitive answer when asked if she was there to meet with anyone. Due to a potential language barrier issue, Mar-a-Lago believed her to be the relative of member Zhang and allowed her access onto the property.”
Once inside the grounds, Zhang was approached by a receptionist and asked why she was there.
“After being asked several times, Zhang finally responded that she was there for a United Nations Chinese American Association event later in the evening,” the complaint said. “The Receptionist knew this event did not exist” but when the agent, Ivanovich, followed up with further questions, Zhang allegedlyl said she had arrived early for the event so she could “familiarize herself with the property and take pictures.”
At that point, Zhang presented documentation that she said was her invitation to the event, but it was in Chinese and the agent could not read it.
Agents then took Zhang to a different location to interview her, at which point she became “verbally aggressive,” according to the charging document.
“During the second interview of Zhang, she claimed her Chinese friend “Charles” told her to travel from Shanghai, China to Palm Beach, Florida, to attend this event and attempt to speak with a member of the President’s family about Chinese and American foreign economic relations. Agents were unable to obtain any information more specifically identifying Zhang’s purported contact, ‘Charles’,” the complaint said.
Zhang also told the agents that she had never claimed she was going to the pool.
After Zhang was stopped and questioned, a search of her belongings turned up four cell phones, a laptop, a hard drive, and a thumb drive which contained “malicious malware,” according to the criminal complaint. Authorities said despite her initial claim to be headed for the pool, she was not carrying a swimsuit.
She is charged with making false statements to a federal law enforcement officer and entering a restricted area.
A Secret Service spokeswoman said it was an “ongoing investigation” and declined further comment.
