Well armed, well funded Iranian national arrested near Trump's Mar-a-Lago
Police in Palm Beach arrested an Iranian national who was flush with weapons and cash. When Masoud Yareioell Zoleh was arrested, he had just crossed over the Flagler Memorial Bridge, which is situated less than five miles from President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. Although on foot, Zoleh was also found to have a car parked at Palm Beach International Airport.
When a Palm Beach Daily News reporter appeared on the scene, law enforcement officials first said the arrested man was homeless or, at least, had no known address. However, law officials soon updated the story to report that Zoleh had on him $22,000 (an amount inconsistent with homelessness), a machete, a pickaxe, and an Iranian passport.
Zoleh's arrest came only a few days after Palm Beach police were called out on Monday to Mar-a-Lago to assist the Secret Service with...something. What the something was is unknown, for the Palm Beach report is redacted and does not even name the person involved. Neither the Secret Service nor the White House would comment on Monday's event.
Going back farther in time, on Sunday, before the president was to fly out of Palm Beach International Airport after having spent the weekend at Mar-a-Lago, a Marine who had been dishonorably discharged for sex offenses was able to make it past two airport checkpoints before getting arrested. He did so by falsely claiming to be a member of President Trump's helicopter crew.
The Palm Beach Daily News points out that with President Trump's regular presence at Mar-a-Lago, the security issues over the past few days aren't the only ones that have occurred recently. Just as Zoleh was Iranian, we know of two Chinese nationals who were found in suspicious proximity to Mar-a-Lago:
Last month, Jing Lu, 56, was confronted by the private club's security officers and told to leave, but she returned to take photos, police said. She then fled. Palm Beach officers were called and arrested her about a mile (1.6 kilometers) away in downtown Palm Beach's tony shopping district. Lu was charged with loitering and prowling. Her case is pending. Neither the president nor his family was at the club.
In March, Yujing Zhang, a 33-year-old Shanghai businesswoman, gained access to Mar-a-Lago by telling Secret Service agents she was there to swim. Club staff then confused her for a member's daughter and admitted her before she was stopped in the lobby by a suspicious clerk who alerted other agents.
Zhang was carrying a laptop, phones and other electronic gear, which led to initial speculation that she might be a spy, but she was never charged with espionage and text messages she exchanged with a trip organizer indicated she was a fan of the president and wanted to meet him or his family to discuss possible deals.
Zhang was found guilty in September of trespassing and lying to Secret Service agents. She was sentenced in November to time served and ordered deported.
In another Mar-a-Lago trespassing case, a University of Wisconsin student was arrested in November 2018 after he mixed in with guests being admitted to the club. He pleaded guilty in May to a misdemeanor and received probation.
Protecting a president, especially one who is on the receiving end of non-stop threats from both genuinely dangerous people and from laptop Twitter warriors inside and outside Hollywood, is a full-time job.