PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Chinese woman arrested at Mar-a- Lago told a judge during her first appearance that she has no idea of what Mar-a-Lago is or who lives there.
56-year-old Lu Jing faces charges of prowling and loitering after first being told to leave the property on Wednesday and then returning to take pictures.
The case is oddly similar to the incident back in March when Yu Jing Zhang, also a Chinese national, was arrested at Mar A Lagoand later convicted of lying to agents and being on restricted property.
Zhang was never charged with being a spy despite widespread speculation over her true intentions.
“What it reflects to us in the intelligence community is that Mar-a- Lago is a high target,” says Lisa Ruth, a former CIA analyst who owns CTC Security in West Palm Beach.
Ruth says it’s not uncommon for Chinese citizens to be enlisted for surveillance and this may be a case of testing the security limits of Mar A Lago.
“I don’t think any foreign intelligence service is not interested in Mar-a-Lago,” Ruth says.
Secret Service is usually in charge of security at Mar-a-Lago only when the President and First Family are there, as they will be this weekend.
