(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A seemingly mentally unstable man arrested Friday for trespassing on Donald Trump’s private Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago told law enforcement that China was involved in the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump.
According to an arrest affidavit, the man, 38-year-old Zijie Li, was first stopped by Secret Service on July 19 trying to enter Mar-a-Lago.
“Li informed Secret Service agents that he possessed information claiming that China was involved with the assassination attempt of former President Trump and wanted to leave documents with them,” said a July 31 affidavit from a Palm Beach Police Detective.
“Li was then informed he was trespassing and was not allowed to enter further onto Mar-a-Lago property.”
Wow: A man was stopped by Secret Service on July 19 trying to enter Mar-a-Lago.
Then, last week, he bypassed Secret Service checkpoints before being stopped by private security. He was later arrested
Maybe there's an explanation for this, but sure seems odd pic.twitter.com/aAPYL1WXtF— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) August 5, 2024
Li was told he’d be arrested if he tried going to Mar-a-Lago again. But that didn’t stop him from driving near a Mar-a-Lago checkpoint on July 22, July 30 and again on July 31, according to police.
On the last trip, Li allegedly “passed all USSS checkpoints and barricades, and attempted to enter through the south gate at Mar-a-Lago before being stopped by Mar-a-Lago security,” the affidavit stated.
After private security stopped Li, law enforcement issued a “BOLO”—be on the lookout—and arrested him later that day.
Li is reportedly being held on $10,000 bond. Police have also applied for a protective order that would prevent him from possessing firearms, based in part on the fact that he was arrested for felony domestic violence in California in April 2024.
Li also displayed signs of mental illness by telling police that “he believed unknown persons were altering his hotel reservations and altering his information electronically.” Additionally, he said he would only speak to law enforcement if a “trained FBI interrorgator” were in the room, according to a Palm County Sheriff’s Office application for a protective order.
“I believe if Zijie Li is allowed to purchase or possess a firearm or ammunition, he would present a significant danger of causing personal injury to himself or other members of the community,” Palm County Sheriff’s Detective Matthew Horton said in an Aug. 1 affidavit.
“Therefore, a Risk Protection Order is being requested at this time.”
The Secret Service didn’t immediately respond to a Headline USA request for comment on the matter. It’s not clear if the agency made a mistake in letting Li pass its checkpoints, or if that would have been a routine procedure before going to private security.
The recent incident at Mar-a-Lago is just the latest security breach at the resort. In fact, it’s not even the first security failure involving a seemingly mentally ill person with links to China.
in March 2019, for instance, an apparent Chinese national almost gained access to Trump. That time, the security failure was made by Mar-a-Lago staff.
Bloomberg released new Secret Service records today showing past security failures at Mar-a-Lago
For instance, in 2018 an 18-year old snuck into the club and posted a SnapChat titled, "Sneaking into Trump club is like taking candy from a baby."
The outcome of this case is unclear pic.twitter.com/t02AJhjD84— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) July 17, 2024
According to Secret Service records, Mar-a-Lago staff thought the woman was a relative of one of the club’s members, and that she was attending a conference. Once they realized their error, they notified Secret Service, which detained the woman.
In another Mar-a-Lago breach in 2018, it was the Secret Service at fault. In that case, an 18-year-old college student arrived at Mar-a-Lago while Trump was visiting.
According to Secret Service records, the teenager was screened at a checkpoint by Secret Service and allowed through. During his brief visit, he entered a secure area and uploaded videos of his escapades to Snapchat—including one titled, “Sneaking into Trump club is like taking candy from a baby.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
