Mar-a-Lago arrest: Chinese woman had passports, malware at Trump's club, police say

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Chinese woman with 2 passports, malware arrested at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club

A Chinese woman with a thumb drive containing malware as well as multiple passports and electronic devices was arrested at The Mar-a-Lago Club on Saturday after she made her way past a security checkpoint, according to a federal criminal complaint.

President Donald Trump was at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter at the time, according to White House press pool reports.

Yujing Zhang appeared in court Monday on charges of unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds and making false statements to federal law enforcement agents.

Zhang — who also had two passports, four cellphones, a laptop and a hard drive — told a Secret Service agent her father was a club member and she was visiting the pool, the complaints states.

She said club security had allowed her to enter because of "a language barrier," the complaint states.

The on-duty manager said someone with the last name Zhang was a club member, but Secret Service could not confirm that she was a club member, the complaint states.

A golf-cart valet picked up Zhang and asked her where she wanted to go, but she said she wasn't sure, so the valet dropped her off at the main reception area, the complaint states.

They passed three Secret Service agents during the ride and Zhang passed through another Secret Service checkpoint before entering the main reception area, the complaint states.

After a receptionist asked Zhang multiple times why she was visiting the club, she said she was attending a United Nations Chinese-American Association event; however, that event didn't exist, the complaint states.

The receptionist determined Zhang wasn't on the club's access list and had her escorted off the property, the complaint states.

A Secret Service agent questioned why Zhang was at the club, and she again claimed she was there to attend an event focused on Chinese-American foreign relations, the complaint states.

During a second interview, Zhang told agents her friend "Charles" told her to travel from Shanghai to Palm Beach to attend the event and to talk to a member of Trump's family about the economic relationship between U.S. and China, the complaint states.

Zhang, who is fluent in English, said she and Charles talked exclusively through WeChat, a popular instant messaging platform used in China, but agents were unable to determine who he is, the complaint states.

Zhang's detention hearing is scheduled for April 8.

The Trump Organization owns the Palm Beach resort.

irving47 on April 2nd, 2019 at 23:15 UTC »

"Agents said Zhang only got in because she lied."

Keep upping that bar, Secret Service

autotldr on April 2nd, 2019 at 21:03 UTC »

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 76%. (I'm a bot)

A Chinese woman with a thumb drive containing malware as well as multiple passports and electronic devices was arrested at The Mar-a-Lago Club on Saturday after she made her way past a security checkpoint, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Zhang - who also had two passports, four cellphones, a laptop and a hard drive - told a Secret Service agent her father was a club member and she was visiting the pool, the complaints states.

The on-duty manager said someone with the last name Zhang was a club member, but Secret Service could not confirm that she was a club member, the complaint states.

Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: Zhang#1 complaint#2 states#3 Club#4 agent#5

amkronos on April 2nd, 2019 at 20:24 UTC »

Interesting, curious what sort of payload that malware was designed to load. Sounds to me like she is/ some sort of agent either civilian or otherwise looking for an electronic device to compromise, and then GTFO out of the country. We probably won't hear another thing about Ms. Zhang.