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Accused Mar-a-Lago checkpoint crasher pleads insanity

Opera singer nearly struck Secret Service agents, deputies
Hannah Roemhild
Posted at 7:26 PM, Jun 11, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-08 23:44:05-04

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Connecticut opera singer accused of crashing her car through a checkpoint outside President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort earlier this year has entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Hannah Roemhild’s attorney filed the written plea Wednesday to charges that include aggravated assault on a law-enforcement officer with a deadly weapon.

Authorities do not believe she was targeting the president or Mar-a-Lago.

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Roemhild's attorneys have said the 30-year-old has a history of mental illness and had been off her medication when she crashed through the checkpoint on Jan. 31.

She nearly struck Secret Service agents and Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies, who opened fire as she sped off.

In May, prosecutors dropped charges of fleeing from police and resisting an officer without violence against Roemhild.

She still faces two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, which are both felonies. Those two counts are still pending with the next hearing date scheduled for July 23.