A Chinese national was arrested after he allegedly attempted to enter former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, claiming to have documents implicating China in the July 13 assassination attempt on President Trump.
Police said Zijie Li, of El Monte, California, tried to break into the building multiple times between July 19 and July 30, Fox News reported. report:
According to the arrest warrant, Li’s first attempt to get into Mar-a-Lago occurred on July 19, when he arrived at the front door of the mansion on South Ocean Boulevard in a gray Toyota Prius and reportedly told Secret Service agents he had documents implicating China in the assassination attempt. report Obtained by Palm Beach Post.
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Investigators then reportedly told Lee he was trespassing and not allowed on the property, and Palm Beach police issued him a written warning. Police also told Lee he was not allowed to return to Mar-a-Lago and would be arrested if he did.
According to the arrest report, Lee’s next visit to Palm Beach was on July 22, when city security camera footage showed him driving east on the Royal Park Bridge and then west again, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
While Trump was not in attendance He was there when Lee visited Mar-a-Lago on July 19. The man was seen driving on the Royal Park Bridge, which connects the club and other locations along the beach to the mainland.
On July 30, Lee was again seen driving to the club checkpoint and again had a confrontation with police, after officers noticed a Mar-a-Lago address on the GPS directions of a suspected trespasser, according to the arrest report.
Police released Li and he left town, but Fox News reported that “less than an hour later, his car was spotted south of Mar-a-Lago on South Ocean Boulevard.”
Palm Beach police and Secret Service agents again instructed him not to return to Mar-a-Lago. Palm Beach Post report.
According to the media, Lee returned to the club the following day, Wednesday, and was finally arrested at an intersection near the club.
Trump was not on the premises at the time.
Lee is currently facing a misdemeanor trespass charge. Palm Beach Post report.
Lee’s arrest was the first related to Mar-a-Lago security since the mass shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, fired multiple shots at former President Trump, striking him in the ear and wounding two supporters, and killing another, according to prison records obtained by the outlet.
Lee’s next court appearance is scheduled for Monday. He remained in the Palm Beach County Jail on Thursday morning on $3,000 bail, according to court records seen by The Post.
The contents of the mysterious document claimed by the intruders have not been made public.
