Jury finds Chinese national not guilty of trespassing Mar-a-Lago: 'An honest mistake'
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – On Tuesday morning, a six-person jury agreed with Jing Lu’s lawyers: When she walked on to the Mar-a-Lago property late last year and began snapping photos of President Donald Trump’s part-time residence, it was “an honest mistake” and not a crime.
After a little more than an hour of deliberations, the jury found Lu, a Chinese national, not guilty of trespassing after a warning but guilty of resisting arrest after investigators say she was caught taking photos at the private Palm Beach club on Dec. 18, 2019.
During the daylong trial Tuesday, jurors heard testimony from the security guard who intercepted Lu, the head of security for Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach police officers who eventually detained her and from Lu herself.
Lu testified through a Mandarin interpreter during the misdemeanor trial that she came to South Florida for vacation and hired a private tour guide who drove her to several locations in South Florida, including Mar-a-Lago. With a fanny back fastened to her waist and a cellphone in her hand, the Chinese national walked through the open gate and began snapping photos Dec. 18.
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Security officer Murray Fulton told jurors he tried to communicate with her that she couldn’t be on the private property, but when he realized she didn’t speak English, he signaled with his hands for her to leave. He said after she left, she entered back on to the property through another entrance and again he signaled for her to leave.
“Basically trying to tell her she’s not supposed to be here,” Fulton said Tuesday.
Security footage from Mar-a-Lago played for jurors Tuesday showed Lu taking photos while dressed in a long-sleeve white shirt, pink shoes and blue pants on the property.
Though he was not at the Palm Beach residence at the time, Trump arrived two days later to stay at the island home for the holidays.
Lu testified Tuesday her driver picked her up once she left Mar-a-Lago and she continued on her sightseeing tour. The driver dropped her off at Worth Avenue, where town police officers approached her.
Lu told the jury through an interpreter that a Palm Beach police officer showed her a photo of her at Mar-a-Lago – a still shot from the security footage at the club – so she showed him the photos she took there on her phone.
Though she said she didn’t understand what the officer was saying, she thought he wanted her to delete the photos she showed him, so she complied. Then, she said, the officer pulled out his handcuffs.
“I said, ‘No! What are you doing? I just took a couple pictures!’ ” she said through the help of a Mandarin interpreter.
Before jury selection began, Lu declined a plea offer where she would have served one year in jail. A potential juror, who was ultimately dismissed before a jury panel was chosen, told the judge while being questioned separately, “I’m wondering why we’re here.”
He said from his brief understanding of the case as it was explained to the potential jurors that it should have been “a slap on the wrist and get on with your business.”
Assistant Public Defender Schnelle Tonge told the jury what Lu did was “an honest mistake.”
In her closing arguments, Assistant State Attorney Alexandra Dorman told the jury that even with a language barrier, Lu knew what she was doing and that it was wrong.
“This is not an honest mistake. This was a calculated decision,” Dorman said.
Lu is not the only person to be arrested when it comes to making contact with Mar-a-Lago.
In April, Yujing Zhang, a 33-year-old from China, entered Mar-a-Lago with four cellphones, a computer, two Chinese passports, an external hard drive and a thumb drive.
She was convicted of lying to officials to access the property while the president was in town.
Outside the presence of the jury, County Judge Mark Eissey asked prosecutors why the case was not in front of a federal judge, as other cases had been.
Dorman said – after conferring with State Attorney Dave Aronberg, Chief Assistant State Attorney Adrienne Ellis and Assistant State Attorney Richard Clausi Jr., who were present for testimony and conferred with prosecutors Tuesday afternoon – that it was because Trump was not at home at the time.
Follow reporter Hannah Winston on Twitter: @hannahwinston
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