A Chinese woman was arrested President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Wednesday after entering the club and refusing to leave; the second such instance in which a female Chinese national has been arrested at the club this year.
Jing Lu, 56, was initially stopped by the club’s security officers and told to leave, but she returned later to take photos, Palm Beach police spokesman Michael Ogrodnick told the Associated Press. Lu was then arrested and held at the Palm Beach County jail on Wednesday night on charges of loitering and prowling.
Lu reportedly had an expired visa at the time of her arrest.
The incident has similarities to the March arrest of Yujing Zhang, 33, of Shanghai. Zhang was found in possession of a laptop, phones and other electronic gear, which led to some speculation she had entered the property with the intent to spy.
Zhang did reportedly possess a thumbdrive containing malware, according to the federal charges filed against her, though she was never charged with espionage.
Zhang was sentenced to eight months in prison in November for trespassing and lying to secret service agents; but was instead ordered deported back to China, after the judge determined she had already spent nearly eight months in jail by the time she was found guilty and sentenced.
In a November 2018 incident a University of Wisconsin student was arrested after he reportedly mixed in with a crowd of Mar-a-Lago guests. He ultimately plead guilty and received probation.
Trump and his family were not present at the time of the incident, as he was holding a rally in Michigan on Wednesday night ahead of a vote for his impeachment in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Trump family will reportedly arrive at Mar-a-Lago by the weekend and stay there for the holidays.
