PALM BEACH, Fla. — A southern California man faced a Palm Beach County judge Friday after police arrested him Thursday for trespassing at Mar-a-Lago.
Zijie Li's arrest papers show that on four occasions, that he tried to get past the law enforcement barriers that surround Donald Trump's Palm Beach club.
On four other occasions, according to paperwork, license plate readers placed Li, 39, in the area.
According to an arrest report, during Thursday's arrest, Li told Secret Service agents he had documents connecting the July assassination attempt on President-elect Trump to the Chinese government.
This attempt comes after several warnings from police demanding Li stay away from Mar-a-Lago.
WPTV Investigative Reporter Dave Bohman spent part of the day looking into the background of this Chinese national who said in court, he was in the United States on a student visa.
The arrest report also showed that Li was arrested on July 31 for trespassing after being issued a warning on July 19. Then again in August, where law enforcement asked for a mental health evaluation claiming he was "seriously mentally ill or has recurring mental health issues."
The report also found he was arrested on felony domestic violence charges in California and "…if Zijie Li is allowed to purchase or possess a firearm or ammunition, he would present a significant danger…"
"The biggest concern is not necessarily the distraction that is going to take away manpower," said former FBI agent and Palm Beach Gardens attorney, Stuart Kaplan. "The biggest concern from someone like this is, is the person sent by design to see how we act and how we neutralize, how we identify those individuals who may pose a threat."
Li had also been Baker Acted by Palm Beach police on Oct. 30 up until his release on Thursday, where returned to Mar-a-Lago at around 5 p.m., according to an arrest report.
WATCH: Li's court appearance back on Aug. 2, 2024
On Oct. 30, Palm Beach police responded the area of 8100 South County Road, where Li was reportedly trying to gain assistance from a resident to enter Mar-a-Lago. He was Baker Acted, the arrest report said.
In his latest attempt on Nov. 7, police were notified that an Uber with Li as a passenger had been stopped at south gate entrance of Mar-a-Lago. He was placed into custody.
Li is being held on a $100,000 bond and was ordered no contact with Trump, his properties and Mar-a-Lago, and he cannot carry any weapons. Li refused to sign the no contact order but he verbally acknowledged it during his court appearance.
According to the assistant state attorney, Li applied for a concealed weapons permit back in 2023 but was denied.
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Other Mar-a-Lago trespassing incidents
This isn't the first time someone has been accused of trespassing at Mar-a-Lago in the past few years.
In June 2022, a 53-year-old man was arrested on a trespassing charge.
Jing Lu, a Chinese national, was charged with illegally entering Mar-a-Lago in December 2019.
Mar-a-Lago intruder Yujing Zhang was deported to China in 2021 after serving a prison sentence in the U.S. following her 2019 arrest.
A Connecticut opera singer was arrested after she drove a speeding SUV through a checkpoint outside Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 31, 2020.
