reporter2
15-11-21, 10:30
A Chinese woman who trespassed at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort has been deported two years later
Kelsey Vlamis
November 15, 2021
https://i.imgur.com/rQ93B0Y.png
A Chinese businesswoman who trespassed at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort was deported this week after being held in immigration custody for two years.
Yujing Zhang, who was sentenced to eight months in prison, arrived in China on Sunday after her jailing at the Glades County Detention Center was prolonged amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Miami Herald.
The 35-year-old had filed a habeas corpus petition in December in an effort to speed up her removal to China. Court documents indicated Zhang wrote that she needed an attorney and had no money to place a call to her family in China, the Herald reported.
In March 2019, Zhang traveled from China to Palm Beach, Fla., ostensibly for a gala at Mar-a-Lago. She was arrested, held in custody without bail, and eventually found guilty of trespassing and lying to Secret Service agents about her reason for being at the club, the Herald reported.
https://i.imgur.com/5gNNFZV.png
During her trip to the resort, Zhang evaded two Secret Service checkpoints but was eventually stopped by a club receptionist. Her text messages indicate that she knew the gala she was supposedly attending was canceled before she even left China, according to the newspaper.
U.S. District Judge Roy Altman handed her an eight-month prison sentence. At her sentencing, the then-33-year-old said she went to the resort “to meet the president and family and just make friends,” Politico reported.
During her trial, Zhang, who spoke limited English and lacked legal training, represented herself after firing the public defender’s office, though she received some advice at the sentencing hearing from federal public defender Kristy Militello, per the Herald.
https://i.imgur.com/xtq6VK3.png
While awaiting deportation in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s custody, Zhang unsuccessfully attempted to obtain bail as government lawyers argued that she was a flight risk, the Herald added.
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A Chinese businesswoman who was convicted of trespassing at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida was deported this weekend after being held in immigration custody for nearly two years, the Miami Herald reported.
Yujing Zhang, 35, was arrested on March 30, 2019, after she gained access to the private Palm Beach club while Trump was there. Secret Service agents said she lied to them in order to get in and aroused their suspicions after giving staff mixed messages about why she was there.
One agent said Zhang had brought four cellphones, a laptop computer, an external hard drive, and a thumb drive that contained malware, or a virus, into the resort, Insider's John Haltiwanger reported.
Her arrest sparked concerns about national security and questions about whether she was a Chinese spy.
In September 2019 Zhang was found guilty of lying to a federal officer and trespassing. She was never charged with espionage, and prosecutors did not offer an explanation into what exactly Zhang intended to do at Mar-a-Lago. Her motives remain unclear.
Zhang told US District Judge Roy Altman she came to Mar-a-Lago "to meet the president and family and just make friends," according to the Associated Press. She also said Trump had told reporters he invited her to come, which Altman said was a lie.
She was sentenced to eight months in prison and the judge ordered she be turned over to immigration officials to be deported after her release.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told the Herald that Zhang was transferred to immigration authorities after completing her sentence in December 2019. Due to deportation delays brought on by the pandemic, she was held for nearly two additional years, or three times the length of her prison sentence.
Zhang filed a habeas corpus petition in December 2020 to speed up her removal process so she could return to her native China, the Herald reported.
"It violates a person's basic rights," she wrote by hand in a motion filed in federal court. She also said in the petition that she had no money to call her family in China and needed an attorney to help get out of immigration custody.
Kelsey Vlamis
November 15, 2021
https://i.imgur.com/rQ93B0Y.png
A Chinese businesswoman who trespassed at former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort was deported this week after being held in immigration custody for two years.
Yujing Zhang, who was sentenced to eight months in prison, arrived in China on Sunday after her jailing at the Glades County Detention Center was prolonged amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Miami Herald.
The 35-year-old had filed a habeas corpus petition in December in an effort to speed up her removal to China. Court documents indicated Zhang wrote that she needed an attorney and had no money to place a call to her family in China, the Herald reported.
In March 2019, Zhang traveled from China to Palm Beach, Fla., ostensibly for a gala at Mar-a-Lago. She was arrested, held in custody without bail, and eventually found guilty of trespassing and lying to Secret Service agents about her reason for being at the club, the Herald reported.
https://i.imgur.com/5gNNFZV.png
During her trip to the resort, Zhang evaded two Secret Service checkpoints but was eventually stopped by a club receptionist. Her text messages indicate that she knew the gala she was supposedly attending was canceled before she even left China, according to the newspaper.
U.S. District Judge Roy Altman handed her an eight-month prison sentence. At her sentencing, the then-33-year-old said she went to the resort “to meet the president and family and just make friends,” Politico reported.
During her trial, Zhang, who spoke limited English and lacked legal training, represented herself after firing the public defender’s office, though she received some advice at the sentencing hearing from federal public defender Kristy Militello, per the Herald.
https://i.imgur.com/xtq6VK3.png
While awaiting deportation in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s custody, Zhang unsuccessfully attempted to obtain bail as government lawyers argued that she was a flight risk, the Herald added.
-----------------------------
A Chinese businesswoman who was convicted of trespassing at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida was deported this weekend after being held in immigration custody for nearly two years, the Miami Herald reported.
Yujing Zhang, 35, was arrested on March 30, 2019, after she gained access to the private Palm Beach club while Trump was there. Secret Service agents said she lied to them in order to get in and aroused their suspicions after giving staff mixed messages about why she was there.
One agent said Zhang had brought four cellphones, a laptop computer, an external hard drive, and a thumb drive that contained malware, or a virus, into the resort, Insider's John Haltiwanger reported.
Her arrest sparked concerns about national security and questions about whether she was a Chinese spy.
In September 2019 Zhang was found guilty of lying to a federal officer and trespassing. She was never charged with espionage, and prosecutors did not offer an explanation into what exactly Zhang intended to do at Mar-a-Lago. Her motives remain unclear.
Zhang told US District Judge Roy Altman she came to Mar-a-Lago "to meet the president and family and just make friends," according to the Associated Press. She also said Trump had told reporters he invited her to come, which Altman said was a lie.
She was sentenced to eight months in prison and the judge ordered she be turned over to immigration officials to be deported after her release.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told the Herald that Zhang was transferred to immigration authorities after completing her sentence in December 2019. Due to deportation delays brought on by the pandemic, she was held for nearly two additional years, or three times the length of her prison sentence.
Zhang filed a habeas corpus petition in December 2020 to speed up her removal process so she could return to her native China, the Herald reported.
"It violates a person's basic rights," she wrote by hand in a motion filed in federal court. She also said in the petition that she had no money to call her family in China and needed an attorney to help get out of immigration custody.