Man charged with driving stolen car to talk to Trump at Mar-a-Lago
A Florida man was arrested late Thursday night after Palm Beach Police said he pulled up to Mar-a-Lago and asked to speak with President-elect Donald Trump — while driving a stolen car.
It marks at least the third person to be arrested at Mar-a-Lago since the summer, and comes as Trump's club is filled with dignitaries and celebrities helping to guide the president-elect during his transition into a second term in the White House.
The 52-year-old Sarasota man faces charges of vehicle theft and operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, jail records show. He was being held at the Palm Beach County Jail on Friday morning on a $5,250 bond before his scheduled first appearance before a judge, according to jail records. His bond could be adjusted at that time.
According to a Palm Beach Police arrest report, the man drove a Hyundai Kona, a small SUV, into a parking lot near Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club at about 9:15 p.m. Thursday and asked to speak with the president-elect. A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office detective and U.S. Secret Service agent pulled the man aside while waiting for police, the report said.
When the Palm Beach Police officer who arrived on the scene checked the man's driver's license, he found that it had been suspended indefinitely, the report said. Upon checking the license plate number on the SUV the man drove, the officer found that it did not belong to him.
Instead, the gray Hyundai belonged to a rental company, which said a woman had rented the SUV, the report indicated. When police contacted that woman, she told them that she was acquaintances with the Sarasota man and they had met earlier in the day to buy a vehicle. While the woman went into the bank to withdraw money, the man waited in the car, she told the police.
When she returned, the SUV was no longer there, according to the police report.
The woman went back to the man's residence, thinking he would return, but he did not. Instead, he apparently drove to Mar-a-Lago. The woman told police that she had not given the man permission to take her SUV, the report said.
A deputy from the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office contacted the Palm Beach Police officer and said the SUV had been reported stolen.
Recent arrests at Mar-a-Lago
The Sarasota man is the latest to be arrested at Mar-a-Lago since a gunman tried to assassinate Trump at the then-Republican presidential candidate's campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.
After that incident — in which Trump and two of his supporters were injured and another rally attendee was killed — the Secret Service immediately increased security around Trump, his family and campaign, and all of his properties, including Mar-a-Lago, the agency previously told the Palm Beach Daily News.
On July 31, a Chinese citizen who lives in California was arrested after police said he repeatedly tried to get into Mar-a-Lago to talk to Trump. The man was held at the Palm Beach County Jail until late October, according to police reports. He almost immediately began trying to get to Mar-a-Lago again, and was placed on a short-term hold on Oct. 30 after asking a Palm Beach resident to help him get to Trump's club, Palm Beach Police said.
On Nov. 7, the same day the man was released from the involuntary hold, he was arrested on a misdemeanor trespassing charge after he took an Uber to Mar-a-Lago's south gate, police said. He has pleaded not guilty.
A South Carolina man who police said is one of Trump's supporters was arrested Aug. 13 after Palm Beach Police said he walked around Secret Service checkpoints to try to speak with Trump. That man also pleaded not guilty.
This story will be updated.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the Paste BN Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.