Chinese woman arrested at Trump resort with malware on thumb drive

This article is more than 12 months old

Apr 04, 2019 06:00 am

WASHINGTON: A Chinese woman carrying mobile phones and other devices, including a thumb drive containing malware, was arrested on Saturday at US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida while he was there, court documents revealed on Tuesday.

An arrest document said that Zhang Yujing tried to gain entry into Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, first presenting herself as a member and saying she was headed to the pool - despite not having a swimsuit. Then, she claimed to be attending a non-existent Chinese-American event.

After she was detained, she said that she was asked by a Chinese friend named Charles to travel from Shanghai to attend the event and attempt to speak to a member of the President's family about US-China economic relations, the document said.

The woman carried two passports from the People's Republic of China, according to the US Secret Service which arrested her.

Secret Service agents at the scene found four mobile phones, a laptop computer, an external hard drive and a thumb drive that "contained malicious software", according to the document.

Zhang was arrested and charged with making false statements to federal officers and knowingly entering a restricted building - which Mar-a-Lago becomes while Mr Trump is in residence. - AFP