Chinese man charged again for entering Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club

On By Pranco

A Chinese citizen who was arrested in July After repeatedly trying to gain entry to President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, he was arrested again Thursday after attempting to enter again, police said.

Zijie Li, 39, of El Monte, California, is charged with trespassing in connection with the incident and remained in custody at the Palm Beach County Jail Friday morning. Circuit Judge Donald Hafele set his bail at $100,000, according to court records.

The judge also ordered Li to stay away from Trump and all his properties, including Mar-a-Lago, and banned him from carrying weapons.

Li’s arrest Thursday came shortly after he was released from a Baker Act jail following an Oct. 30 incident near Mar-a-Lago. The state’s Baker Act allows someone to be held for up to 72 hours for a mental health examination.

On that occasion, Li tried to get help from a resident to gain access to Mar-a-Lago.

Police say he approached a home on South County Road and asked the resident if she was a member of Mar-a-Lago and would be willing to take him there in her car. The resident refused and called the police. After Li was identified, he was placed on hold under the Baker Act.

Police were notified on Thursday that Li had been released from detention. Later in the day, a Palm Beach police detective assigned to the Mar-a-Lago conservation area was told that an Uber with Li as a passenger had been stopped at the club’s south entrance.

That entrance is staffed by U.S. Secret Service personnel, Palm Beach sheriff’s deputies and Mar-a-Lago security, according to an arrest report released Friday by Palm Beach police.

Li was held at the scene until police arrived and took him into custody.

His arrest follows previous attempts to gain entry to Mar-a-Lago, with the first on July 19 when he pulled up to the main entrance of the estate on South Ocean Boulevard in a gray Toyota Prius and told Secret Service agents he had documents showing China’s involvement in the July 13 assassination attempt on the former president, according to an arrest report. Trump wasn’t there at the time.

Li was given a written warning and told he would be arrested if he returned to Mar-a-Lago.

On July 30, Li was seen placing paperwork referencing Trump on vehicles along Chilean Avenue.

On July 31, Li was arrested on trespassing charges after he tried to enter Mar-a-Lago through the south gate. The judge in that case set bail at $3,000, which was revoked by Hafele on Friday.

Li’s immigration status in the US could not immediately be confirmed.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach daily newspart of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at [email protected].