Chinese Mar-a-Lago intruder Zhang Yujing had device for detecting hidden cameras, US prosecutors say at bail hearing
- Federal magistrate judge rules Zhang will be held without bond until at least next week
- ‘She lies to everyone she encounters,’ prosecutor says, arguing that Zhang is a flight risk
The Chinese woman who managed to bypass layers of security at US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida will spend at least another week in custody, a federal magistrate ruled on Monday.
Zhang Yujing was arrested on March 30 by the US Secret Service after she got as far as the reception area of the club, which stays open for its members and their guests when the president is there. The incident has amplified concerns that the Palm Beach resort where Trump and his advisers spend so much time is difficult to secure.
Those concerns were heightened in part because when Zhang was arrested, she was carrying a thumb drive with malicious software on it, four mobile phones, a laptop, and an external hard drive, authorities said. She was charged with lying to Secret Service agents and entering restricted space.
A subsequent search of Zhang’s hotel room turned up more that alarmed investigators: nine thumb drives, five SIM cards for cellphones, about US$8,000 in cash, several credit and debit cards, and a device used to detect hidden cameras, officials said.
At the detention hearing before federal Magistrate Judge William Matthewman on Monday to determine whether Zhang should be released on bond pending her trial, prosecutors argued she was so untrustworthy she should remain in jail while authorities continue to investigate her.
“She lies to everyone she encounters,” said Assistant US Attorney Rolando Garcia, though he added there is “no allegation that she is involved in any espionage”.
According to documents filed in court, Zhang is either 32 or 33. Tracing her movements, authorities determined she entered the country legally on March 28, flying into Newark, New Jersey, on a flight from Shanghai.
Nothing to see here: Trump calls Mar-a-Lago security breach a ‘fluke’
Two days later, Zhang allegedly approached a Mar-a-Lago security checkpoint and told security officials she was there to go to the swimming pool.
Initially, Mar-a-Lago employees seemed to think she might be a guest of one of the club’s members, whose last name also is Zhang.
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
“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 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.”
There is no indication she ever got close to the president, who was golfing nearby.
Once on the resort 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 says.
“The receptionist knew this event did not exist,” it says, but when the Secret Service agent, Ivanovich, followed up with additional questions, Zhang allegedly said she had arrived early for the event so she could “familiarise 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 written in Chinese and the agent could not read it.
Secret Service agents took Zhang to a different location to interview her, at which point she became “verbally aggressive”, according to the charging document.
At the hearing, Garcia said that “the preliminary analysis of her phones shows she was not there for an event at Mar-a-Lago”.
Ivanovich, who testified at the hearing, stated that when another agent put Zhang’s thumb-drive into his computer, it immediately began to install files, a “very out-of-the-ordinary” event he had never seen before. The agent had to halt the analysis to stop any further corruption of his computer, Ivanovich said.
Defense attorney Robert Adler described the incident as a “misunderstanding”.
“The only thing Ms Zhang did was give a common name and she was allowed onto the property,” Adler said. “I don’t understand how this could be a trespass charge.”
Zhang’s bond hearing will resume next week.
Additional reporting by Reuters
