A Chinese citizen who tried to enter Mar-a-Lago, the Florida residence of President-elect Trump, multiple times over the past few months was arrested Thursday, authorities said.
It was one of multiple attempts by Zijie Li, 39, to enter the Palm Beach club in an effort to speak with Trump, according to an arrest affidavit.
He faces a second trespass charge after being issued a warning, in addition to a pending charge he received in July. He is being held in the Palm Beach County Main Detention Center on $100,000 bail, according to jail records.
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Zijie Li, 39, a man who claimed he had information about President-elect Trump’s recent assassination attempt, is now behind bars after trying to get into Mar-a-Lago multiple times, according to the Palm Beach (Florida) Police Department. (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office | Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“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.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Palm Beach Police Department. The Secret Service referred questions to the police.
Li first tried to enter Mar-a-Lago on July 19, six days after the first assassination attempt on Trump, according to a probable cause affidavit. Security around the club was heightened after the attempt on Trump’s life during a Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally.
Li allegedly entered Mar-a-Lago at the main gate and was stopped by the Secret Service.
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A US Coast Guard boat patrols outside the Mar-a-Lago Club on November 8, 2024, across from West Palm Beach, Florida. US President-elect Donald Trump remains out of the public eye after winning the 2024 election. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
He told a Secret Service agent that he had information suggesting China was involved in the first assassination attempt against Trump and wanted to leave documents with them.
Local police issued him a trespass warning. Trump was not home at the time and was in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention.
Li visited Palm Beach at least four more times after the incident and drove up to the north checkpoint but didn’t attempt to enter Mar-a-Lago, the affidavit said. On July 22, footage from town security cameras showed that he drove east and then west again over the Royal Park Bridge twice, first in the morning and then in the afternoon, an arrest report said.
Trump was at Mar-a-Lago that day, after returning from Wisconsin. On July 30, Li was in Palm Beach placing paperwork about Trump on vehicles.
Li was arrested the next day for allegedly trespassing at Mar-a-Lago. As a condition of his bond, Li was ordered to stay 500 feet away from the club.
On Oct. 30, Li asked a resident who lives near the club to help him enter, police said. Li allegedly asked the resident if they were a member at Mar-a-Lago and if she would drive him onto the property, authorities said.
Former President Trump arrives for a campaign rally at Lancaster Airport in Lititz, Pennsylvania, on Sunday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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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.
Li was released on Thursday and returned to Mar-a-Lago at around 5 p.m. before he was arrested. An assistant state attorney told WPTV that Li was in the U.S. on a student visa from California.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
