Chinese woman Zhang Yujing charged in security breach at Mar-a-Lago is denied bail
- Zhang, 33, faces counts of lying to Secret Service agents and gaining access to a restricted area
- Prosecution says detection of malware on thumbdrive Zhang was carrying could be ‘false positive’
The Chinese woman accused of lying her way into US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort was denied bail on Monday in a south Florida federal court.
Zhang Yujing, 33, was charged with lying to federal officers and gaining access to a restricted area after she entered Mar-a-Lago on March 30, having told Secret Service agents she was there to use the pool, before telling reception staff she was there to attend a function and mingle with members of the Trump family, according to a criminal complaint.
Zhang was found to be carrying multiple phones, a laptop and a thumb drive that preliminary investigations suggested contained malware. A search of her hotel room found over US$7,500 in cash, multiple SIM cards and a signal detector used for finding hidden cameras.
She has not been charged with espionage, though assistant US Attorney Rolando Garcia said on Monday it was “possible” that the US government would bring more charges against Zhang.
In a federal courtroom in West Palm Beach, Magistrate Judge William Matthewman noted that there was no extradition agreement between China and the US, and that Zhang, who lives and works in Shanghai, had no family or ties to the US. There was a serious risk of flight, said Matthewman, adding that no bail conditions existed that could reasonably assure Zhang’s presence at trial.
