A Chinese citizen, Zijie Li, 39, was arrested Thursday after attempting multiple times over the past few months to enter Mar-a-Lago, the Florida residence of President-elect Trump, authorities said.
According to an arrest affidavit, Li made several attempts to gain access to the Palm Beach club in an effort to speak with Trump. He now faces a second trespassing charge after receiving a warning, in addition to a pending charge from July. Li is currently being held in the Palm Beach County Main Detention Center on $100,000 bail, according to jail records, Fox News reported.
“The Palm Beach Police Department, in speaking with the United States Secret Service, believe that with the increased attempts by Li to gain entrance into Mar-a-Lago in an effort to make contact with the President Elect that another incident with Li could result in the necessity to use an escalation of enforcement,” an officer wrote in the affidavit.
Li attempted to enter Mar-a-Lago for the first time on July 19, just six days after the first assassination attempt on Trump, according to a probable cause affidavit. Security around the club had been increased following the attempt on Trump’s life during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Li allegedly entered through the main gate of Mar-a-Lago but was stopped by the Secret Service, the report said.
He told a Secret Service agent that he had information indicating China’s involvement in the first assassination attempt on Trump and wanted to leave documents with them.
Local police issued Li a trespass warning after the incident. Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time, as he was in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention.
Li visited Palm Beach at least four more times after the incident, driving up to the north checkpoint but not attempting to enter Mar-a-Lago, according to the affidavit. On July 22, security camera footage showed him driving over the Royal Park Bridge twice that day—once in the morning and again in the afternoon.
Trump had returned to Mar-a-Lago that day after his trip to Wisconsin. On July 30, Li was seen in Palm Beach placing paperwork about Trump on vehicles.
Li was arrested the following day for allegedly trespassing at Mar-a-Lago. As a condition of his bond, he was ordered to remain 500 feet away from the club.
On October 30, Li allegedly asked a local resident near Mar-a-Lago for help entering the property. He reportedly inquired if the resident was a member of the club and asked if she would drive him onto the grounds, according to police. The resident called police and identified Li. He was “Baker Acted” for about a week. Florida’s Baker Act allows for temporary detention due to mental health, Fox noted.
Li was released on Thursday and returned to Mar-a-Lago around 5 p.m., where he was subsequently arrested. An assistant state attorney told WPTV that Li was in the U.S. on a student visa from California.
Now that Trump will serve a second term, he’s constitutionally barred from serving another, and as such, there is already speculation about who will succeed him.
Currently, Vice President-elect JD Vance is the frontrunner to become the 48th president, with a 25% chance (+300 odds), according to SportsBettingDime.
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Since 1933, only five vice presidents have been successfully elected to serve as commander-in-chief, according to the New York Post.
Vance, 40, leads the odds list, followed by former first lady Michelle Obama (+500), California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom (+550), Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis (+800), former Democratic congresswoman-turned-Republican activist Tulsi Gabbard (+1000), and right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson (+1400), the outlet reported.
Vice President Kamala Harris (+2500) is tied with Oprah Winfrey and narrowly surpassed Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro (+3300), whom Harris chose not to select as her running mate, despite Democratic operatives believing he could have helped secure the Keystone State for Democrats.
