PALM BEACH – A Chinese citizen from Southern California was arrested again after trying to gain entry into Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach on Thursday while President-elect Donald Trump was on the property, Palm Beach Police said Friday.
Zijie Li, 39, had been Baker Acted by Palm Beach police on Oct. 30 and was released Thursday. He returned to Mar-a-Lago, 100 S. Ocean Blvd., around 5 p.m., according to an arrest report.
Early Wednesday, the former president declared victory at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, which is miles 5 west of Trump’s home.
Palm Beach Police detectives assigned to the protected area of Mar-a-Lago were notified that an Uber with Li as a passenger had stopped at the south gate entrance. United States Secret Service personnel staff the entrance along with Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office deputies and Mar-a-Lago security, according to the arrest report.
Marta Lavandier / AP
He was detained until arrival of town police.
At 5:17 p.m., the man was placed under arrest.
He had been written a trespassing warning when he was arrested on July 31.
“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 to prevent Li from gaining access to Mar-a-Lago,” according to the police report.
The police department “found probable cause to arrest Zijie Li with one count of Trespass After Warning, because he did unlawfully, without being authorized, licensed, or invited willfully enter upon and remain in any property other than a structure or conveyance the property of Mar-a-Lago.”
He was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail at 11:10 p.m. Thursday.
A judge on Friday ordered Li held on a $100,000 bond and ordered no contact with Trump, his properties and Mar-a-Lago. He also cannot carry any weapons.
His next court date was set for Nov. 21.
Li has been accused of several trespassing incidents in nearly four months.
Here are the incidents, as detailed in the arrest report:
- On July 19, he was issued a trespassing warning for attempting to enter Mar-a-Lago to try to speak with Trump.
- On July 30, police encountered Li in the Town of Palm Beach on Chilean Avenue.
- On July 31, he was arrested on a charge of trespassing for violating the warning issued on July 19, police said. This case is still pending with a bond to stay 500 feet from Mar-a-Lago and Trump.
- On Oct. 30, Palm Beach police responded to 8100 South County Road, where Li was reported to trying to gain assistance from a resident to enter Mar-a-Lago. This was approximately 500 feet from the northern border of the security zone. Li was stopped in a white RAV 4 rental. He was Baker Acted.
Li is in the United States on a student visa from California, according to the assistant state attorney. In 2023, Li applied for a concealed weapons permit but was denied, according to the prosecutor.
Security had been increased outside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence since the attempted assassination in Butler, Pa., during a rally on July 13.
Later that month, the U.S. Secret Service ordered South Ocean Boulevard to be closed effective July 20. Officials said the road would remain closed through at least the Nov. 5 general election.
But in August, U.S. Secret Service, other law enforcement agencies and town officials reached an agreement late to reopen the road when the president is not in Palm Beach.
The security zone includes barricades, cones, signage and checkpoints “to prevent unauthorized entry into the security zone.”
The security zone starts at the intersection of South County Road and South Ocean Avenue. There is a checkpoint at the Bath and Tennis Club parking lot, 1170 S. Ocean Blvd., which is an extended portion of the security zone.
Trump “was very opposed” to closing the road, according to a Mar-a-Lago news release.
The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami also has new restricted “security zones” in the water near Mar-a-Lago whenever he or other protected visitors are in town. The Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies will have boats displaying flashing blue lights around three zones, which encompass the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. The original order was through Nov. 30.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said this week there won’t be extreme changes near Mar-a-Lago because security is already at the presidential level.
Supporters have turned out near his residence on Southern Avenue.
Mar-a-Lago, which was built in 1927, includes 126 rooms and 62,500 square feet built on 17 acres. Since 1985, it has been owned by Trump.
Other people have been accused of trespassing at Mar-a-Lago in the past few years, including Chinese nationals.
