Woman carrying two Chinese passports, malware charged with illegally entering Mar-a-Lago

Federal prosecutors have charged a woman with illegally entering President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida with two Chinese passports, four cellphones and a device containing malware, according to court documents.

Prosecutors say in court filings that Yujing Zhang showed the passports to identify herself to a Secret Service agent over the weekend, saying she was a member and wanted to use the pool.

{mosads}Agents asked Zhang, who was not on the club’s membership list, whether a member of the club with the same surname was her father. She did not give a straight answer, but agents admitted her, thinking she had trouble speaking English.

Once Zhang was inside, she told a receptionist she was there for a meeting of the United Nations Chinese American Association. The event she described did not exist, and the receptionist summoned more Secret Service agents, telling them Zhang was not authorized to be there. 

Zhang was then reportedly taken to the local Secret Service office, at which point questioning made clear she spoke and read English. She again told agents she was there for an event, now saying she had arrived at the club early to familiarize herself with the facility and take pictures.

The documents she claimed was her invitation to the event was in Chinese, but the Secret Service noted that regardless, no such event was scheduled and she had earlier claimed she was there to swim. She was carrying four cellphones, a laptop, an external hard drive and a thumb drive containing malware, but no swimsuit.

Zhang has been charged with making false statements to federal agents and illegally entering a restricted area, according to the documents.

Trump, who often visits the Palm Beach club, was present during the incident but Zhang never made contact with him.