WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A man from southern California faced a Palm Beach County judge Friday after police said he was trespassing at Mar-a-Lago last month.
According to a probable cause affidavit, a Toyota Prius driven by Zijie Li, 38, attempted to enter the main gate of Mar-a-Lago on July 19 just before 8 p.m.
When Secret Service members stopped Li, he told them that he had information that China was involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump and wanted to leave the documents with them.
However, the agents told him that he was trespassing and was not allowed to leave any documents.
The report said Palm Beach police arrived at the scene and issued a written trespassing warning to Li, telling him not to return or he would be arrested.
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However, on Tuesday just after 5:30 p.m., police said Li was spotted driving his car on S. Ocean Boulevard toward the Mar-a-Lago checkpoint, blocking a traffic lane.
An officer made contact with Li — a resident of El Monte, California — and spotted on his GPS that his destination was 1100 South Ocean Blvd., which is the address of Mar-a-Lago.
Li was released from the scene, but at about 6:45 p.m. police said he was spotted driving in the 1200 block of South Ocean Boulevard. A Palm Beach officer and Secret Service agents once again made contact with Li near the security zone at Mar-a-Lago, told him not to return and let him go.
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Then on Wednesday just after 10 a.m., police said Li passed all of the Secret Service checkpoints and barricades and attempted to enter through the south gate of Mar-a-Lago before being stopped by security. Officials told him that he could not enter, and he once again left the area. But based on the previous warnings, police said they issued "be on the lookout" alert for Li.
The California man was later located on Palm Beach at the intersection of Royal Palm Way and County Road where he was arrested.
Li faces one count of trespassing after being warned. He is being at the Palm Beach County jail on a $10,000 bond.
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.
