Chinese Mar-a-Lago intruder Zhang Yujing had device for detecting hidden cameras, US prosecutors say at bail hearing
- Federal magistrate judge rules Zhang will be held without bond until at least next week
- ‘She lies to everyone she encounters,’ prosecutor says, arguing that Zhang is a flight risk
The Chinese woman who managed to bypass layers of security at US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida will spend at least another week in custody, a federal magistrate ruled on Monday.
Zhang Yujing was arrested on March 30 by the US Secret Service after she got as far as the reception area of the club, which stays open for its members and their guests when the president is there. The incident has amplified concerns that the Palm Beach resort where Trump and his advisers spend so much time is difficult to secure.
Those concerns were heightened in part because when Zhang was arrested, she was carrying a thumb drive with malicious software on it, four mobile phones, a laptop, and an external hard drive, authorities said. She was charged with lying to Secret Service agents and entering restricted space.
A subsequent search of Zhang’s hotel room turned up more that alarmed investigators: nine thumb drives, five SIM cards for cellphones, about US$8,000 in cash, several credit and debit cards, and a device used to detect hidden cameras, officials said.
At the detention hearing before federal Magistrate Judge William Matthewman on Monday to determine whether Zhang should be released on bond pending her trial, prosecutors argued she was so untrustworthy she should remain in jail while authorities continue to investigate her.
