A Chinese woman appeared in federal court Monday after being arrested over the weekend for trying to enter Mar-a-Lago carrying a thumb drive containing malware.
Yujing Zhang, 32, was charged with making false statements to a federal officer and entering or remaining in a restricted building, according to a report from the Palm Beach Post.
At around noon on Saturday, while President Trump was at the Florida resort, Zhang allegedly approached a U.S. Secret Service checkpoint saying she wanted to use the Mar-a-Lago pool. Zhang produced two Chinese passports as proof of her identity and was let in by the manager, who thought she was related to one of the resort’s members.
But after Zhang entered, her story changed.
When she arrived at the reception desk, Zhang said she was at Mar-a-Lago to attend a “United Nations Chinese American Association Event.” Federal agents were notified of her presence because no such event was planned.
When she was questioned further, Zhang became “verbally aggressive.” During an interview with the Secret Service, Zhang said she had come from Shanghai, China, to attend a friendship event and hoped to meet with a member of the Trump family to discuss Chinese American economic relations.
The Secret Service say they seized a laptop computer from Zhang in addition to four cellphones and the thumb drive, which was found to contain malicious malware.
The charges Zhang faces carry a maximum five-year prison sentence.
