Mar-A-Lago Trespasser Deported To China
PALM BEACH (CBSMiami/AP) — More than two years after serving her sentence, a Chinese businesswoman convicted of trespassing at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club was deported to China over the weekend.
Yujing Zhang was turned over to immigration officials in December 2019 after serving her eight-month sentence. But she was held at the Glades County Detention Center for three times as long as her prison term mainly because of deportation delays during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to federal immigration authorities.
At the time of her sentencing, the then 33-year-old Zhang went to Mar-a-Lago "to meet the president and family and just make friends." When an incredulous judge questioned her about whether she thought she could really meet the Trumps, Zhang laughed loudly and said she hoped to meet other people, too.
Zhang then told U.S. District Judge Roy Altman that the president told reporters that he had invited Zhang to Mar-a-Lago. But Altman said that was another lie.
It's unclear what Zhang's motives were, but the judge said it was clearly about more than getting a photo opportunity.
After serving her sentence and while still detained by U.S. immigration officials, Zhang grew desperate to expedite her return to China. She filed a petition in December 2020 to speed up the process but was not successful.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
