A Chinese national has been sentenced to eight months in prison for trespassing at US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.<\/p>\n
It was feared Yujing Zhang, a 33-year-old businesswoman from Shanghai, was a spy when she was arrested on 30 March.<\/p>\n
Initial tests showed she was carrying malware – but prosecutors later said this may have been a “false positive”.<\/p>\n
Zhang, who maintains her innocence, has already served seven-and-a-half months in pre-trial detention.<\/p>\n
District Judge Roy Altman also sentenced her to two years of supervised release.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump was staying at Mar-a-Lago that weekend, but was elsewhere at the time of the incident.<\/p>\n
Zhang was convicted in September of bluffing her way into a restricted zone and lying to a federal officer. Because she was deemed a flight risk, she was remanded in custody until her sentencing.<\/p>\n
When Zhang entered Mar-a-Lago on 30 March, she told the resort’s security staff she was there to use the swimming pool.<\/p>\n
Moments later, she changed her story and told club staff she was there to attend a United Nations event that it later transpired had been cancelled. A receptionist who knew the event was off then flagged her to Secret Service agents.<\/p>\n
At the time of her arrest, she was carrying multiple electronic devices, prompting fears that she was a spy.<\/p>\n
During the two-day trial in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Zhang dismissed her public counsel and instead chose to represent herself – despite the judge’s attempts to persuade her otherwise.<\/p>\n
Zhang often appeared uncomfortable speaking in English, and was also accused of pretending not to understand proceedings.<\/p>\n
But she insisted she was just trying to meet President Trump.<\/p>\n
“I came to the property and just followed the instructions and asked where to go,” she told the court. “I don’t think I am lying. I came to meet the president and family to just make friends.”<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"