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By Terry Spencer

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Chinese national was arrested Friday for trespassing after police say he tried to enter President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in violation of a court order ordering him to stay away following previous attempts. .

Zijie Li, 39, is being held without bail at the Palm Beach County Jail after being arrested Thursday as he arrived at the front gate of Mar-a-Lago in an Uber, the latest in a series of contacts he has had with police and Secret Service agents at or near the estate since July.

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Li, who lives in the Los Angeles suburbs on a student visa, had just been released from a psychiatric hospital, where he was placed in late October after police found him near the estate. He now faces two counts of criminal trespass.

Li’s arrest comes after a sniper nearly killed Trump at a July rally in Pennsylvania and a suspected assassin stalked him in September at his Palm Beach County golf course. On Friday, the US Department of Justice announced that it had foiled an Iranian plot to kill Trump.

During Trump’s tenure as president, there have been numerous illegal incursions into Mar-a-Lago, including two by Chinese nationals, but none were an attempt to harm him.

According to Palm Beach City Police reports, Li first attempted to enter Mar-a-Lago in July, telling Secret Service agents he had information linking China to the attempt. of murder in Pennsylvania. He was told to leave and not come back.

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He was arrested the following week after police said he twice tried to enter Mar-a-Lago. He was charged with misdemeanor trespassing and released on bond, with the judge ordering him to stay away from Mar-a-Lago and Trump.

Then, last week, Li approached a homeowner near Mar-a-Lago who had placed a Trump campaign sign in his yard, records show. He asked the woman if she was a member of Mar-a-Lago and if she would take him inside. She called the police, who took him to a psychiatric hospital for observation.

He was released from the hospital Thursday, shortly before returning to Mar-a-Lago, police said. He was arrested again for misdemeanor trespassing. Bail for his previous arrest was revoked.

The Palm Beach County Public Defender’s Office, which represents Li, declined to comment. He generally does not comment on current matters.

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Mar-a-Lago was the scene of at least five intrusions during Trump’s first term as president, including two by Chinese nationals.

In August 2020, three teenagers fleeing police while carrying a semi-automatic weapon in a backpack jumped a wall at Mar-a-Lago. They were arrested immediately and police said they did not believe the teens knew where they were. Trump was not present at the estate.

In January 2020, two Palm Beach sheriff’s deputies opened fire on a Connecticut opera singer who sped through a checkpoint outside Mar-a-Lago while suffering from a nervous breakdown. She was not hit and was arrested nearby. She was later found not guilty by reason of insanity. She was charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing arrest and resisting an officer without violence.

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In March 2019, Chinese national Yujing Zhang gained access to Mar-a-Lago while carrying a laptop, phones and other electronic equipment. This led to initial speculation that the Shanghai businesswoman might be a spy, but she was never charged with espionage. Text messages she exchanged with a trip organizer indicated she was a fan of the president and wanted to meet with him or his family to discuss possible deals. She was found guilty of trespassing and deported.

In December 2019, club security officers confronted another Chinese national, Jing Lu, then 56, for trespassing and told her to leave, but she returned to take photos. Lu was charged with loitering and resisting a police officer without violence. She was later acquitted of trespassing, but found guilty of resisting arrest.

On Thanksgiving weekend 2018, a University of Wisconsin student visiting the area with his parents entered Mar-a-Lago mingling with an entering group. He was arrested and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

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