FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Chinese individual has been detained on trespassing charges after attempting to access President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, defying a court order that barred him from entering the premises due to prior incidents.
Zijie Li, 39, is currently being held at the Palm Beach County Jail without bail following his arrest on Thursday. He arrived at the entrance of Mar-a-Lago in an Uber, marking yet another encounter with law enforcement and Secret Service personnel at or near the estate, which began in July.
Residing in suburban Los Angeles on a student visa, Li had just been discharged from a mental health facility; he had been committed there in late October after authorities found him near Mar-a-Lago. He now faces two counts of misdemeanor trespassing.
Li’s arrest follows several security incidents surrounding Trump, including a sniper attack in July at a rally in Pennsylvania and an attempted assassination in September at his golf club in Palm Beach County. Additionally, the U.S. Justice Department recently disclosed that it had thwarted an Iranian scheme to target Trump.
During Trump’s presidency, Mar-a-Lago experienced several unauthorized entries, including two incidents involving Chinese nationals, though none were intended to pose harm.
According to reports from the Town of Palm Beach Police, Li first attempted to gain entry to Mar-a-Lago in July, claiming to possess information linking China to the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. Secret Service agents instructed him to leave and to refrain from returning.
Following this, Li was arrested a week later after trying to enter the estate two times. He was charged with misdemeanor trespassing and subsequently released on bail, with a judge mandating that he not approach Mar-a-Lago or Trump.
Records indicate that just last week, Li approached a local resident who had put up a Trump campaign sign in her yard. He inquired whether she was a member of Mar-a-Lago and asked her to take him inside. This interaction prompted the woman to alert law enforcement, who then had him evaluated at a mental health facility.
After his release from the hospital on Thursday, Li returned to Mar-a-Lago, leading to his new arrest on trespassing charges. His bail from the previous charge was subsequently revoked.
The Palm Beach County Public Defender’s Office has chosen not to comment on the matter, as it generally refrains from discussing active cases.
Mar-a-Lago has seen various intrusion attempts during Trump’s initial term, including those involving two Chinese nationals.
In August 2020, three teenagers trying to escape police jumped a wall at Mar-a-Lago while armed with a semiautomatic weapon stored in a backpack. They were taken into custody immediately, with authorities stating they likely didn’t realize where they were. Trump was not present at the estate during that incident.
In January 2020, during a mental health episode, a woman sped through a security checkpoint near Mar-a-Lago, prompting Palm Beach sheriff’s deputies to open fire; however, she was unharmed and later arrested. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
A notable incident in March 2019 involved Yujing Zhang, a Chinese national who gained entry into Mar-a-Lago with a laptop and other devices. Her actions initially raised suspicions of espionage, although she was never charged with such. Her communications suggested she was an admirer of Trump wishing to discuss business opportunities. Ultimately, she was convicted of trespassing and deported.
In December 2019, another Chinese national named Jing Lu faced trespassing charges after being approached by security personnel, but she returned later to take pictures and was subsequently charged with loitering. She was acquitted of trespassing but found guilty of resisting arrest.
On Thanksgiving weekend of 2018, a University of Wisconsin student mingled with a group entering Mar-a-Lago and was arrested, later pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge.
