Yujing Zhang, who was in possession of cellphones and drives containing malware, was arrested after visiting the Trump resort

Security at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida is under fresh scrutiny after a Chinese woman gained access to the reception area carrying multiple cellphones and a computer thumb drive bearing malware.

Mar-a-Lago: woman with malware and Chinese passports accused of illegal entry Read more

Yujing Zhang, 32, was arrested after visiting the luxury resort in Palm Beach shortly after noon on Saturday, according to court documents.

She initially produced two Chinese passports displaying her photo, the affidavit states. Resort officials asked if she was the daughter of a member with the same surname. She did not give a definitive answer and, blaming a language barrier issue, security staff allowed her inside.

But they became suspicious after Zhang appeared to struggle to explain why she was visiting Mar-a-Lago, according to the affidavit. At first she said she wanted to go to the swimming pool, then that she was there for an event staged by a group called the United Nations Chinese American Association. Resort staff found no such event was scheduled.

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Zhang was taken off the grounds. The criminal complaint, filed by Secret Service agent Samuel Ivanovich, states that she became argumentative, so she was taken to the local Secret Service office for questioning.

Investigators found that Zhang was in possession of four cellphones, a laptop computer, an external hard drive device and a thumb drive that “contained malicious software”, the court filing says.

Zhang is charged with making false statements to federal agents and illegally entering a restricted area, as Mar-a-Lago is when the president is in residence. She remains in custody pending a hearing next week.

Her visit remains a mystery but one possibility is that Zhang was trying to attend an event arranged by Li Yang, a Chinese native, Republican donor and former Florida massage parlour owner, the Miami Herald reported. Yang was recently in the public eye after it was found she was promising Chinese business leaders that her consulting firm could get them access to Mar-a-Lago and a chance to mingle with Trump.

The court documents say Zhang claimed she had traveled from Shanghai to attend the nonexistent Mar-a-Lago event on the invitation of an acquaintance named “Charles”. It is uncertain whether she was referring to Charles Lee, a businessman reported to have worked on selling access to Trump with Yang, who runs an organisation called the United Nations Chinese Friendship Association, the Herald reported.

Trump was staying at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend, although he was playing golf at a nearby course at the time of the arrest. The incident is likely to renew concerns over security risks at the resort that Trump dubs his “winter White House”, where he regularly interacts with club members.

Trump has used Mar-a-Lago to host world leaders such as Xi Jinping of China and Shinzo Abe of Japan, celebrities including actor Sylvester Stallone and professional golfers amid Mar-a-Lago’s Versailles-like giant mirrors, gold leaf and crystal chandeliers. The price of membership doubled to $200,000 soon after Trump took office, fueling suspicions that he was commercializing the presidency.

Longtime club member Chris Ruddy, the chief executive of conservative Newsmax Media, told the Guardian late last year:“It’s a myth that a member can get access to him. There’s a virtual rope around him – security, minders – so people don’t just walk up to him. He does occasionally go over to people and meet them. It’s an opportunity for him to meet people outside the beltway. It’s a very diverse club, both Republicans and Democrats, from different backgrounds.”

'Pay-for-access to Trump club': Mar-a-Lago faces renewed ethics concerns Read more

At the heart of Mar-a-Lago is a 128-room mansion built by Marjorie Merriweather Post, a cereal heiress, in 1927. Trump bought the 17-acre estate for $5m in 1985 and made it a private club a decade later. According to Town and Country magazine, he added a 20,000 sq ft ballroom with $7m of gold leaf and spent a fortune on four gold-plated sinks. Members enjoy a beach, two pools, a spa and tennis and croquet courts.

A Secret Service spokesperson said: “While the Secret Service does not determine who is permitted to enter the club, our agents and officers conduct physical screenings to ensure no prohibited items are allowed onto the property. This access does not afford an individual proximity to the president or other Secret Service protectees. In such instances, additional screening and security measures are employed.”

Responding to a question on the case, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a news briefing in Beijing on Wednesday: “I have no understanding of the situation you mention.”

In an interview with the state-run tabloid Global Times, Song Guoyou, deputy director of the American Studies Center of Fudan University in Shanghai said the incident underlined current US hostility toward China.

“The US media has magnified such small things and elevated the unintentional behaviour of the Chinese in the United States as deliberate moves by the government… creating an atmosphere in which Chinese people close to important facilities or people in the US are suspected of spying,” Song said.