By Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald
Secret Service agents and a sheriff’s deputy have shot and killed an armed man near Mar-a-Lago. It wasn’t the first time President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach estate has faced intrusions and scandals.
Here’s a rundown:
SUV sprayed with bullets at Mar-a-Lago
In February 2020, law enforcement officers sprayed an SUV with bullets while it plowed through two security checkpoints near Mar-a-Lago before leading a police helicopter on a chase that ended in the driver’s arrest.
Hannah Roemhild, a trained opera soprano singer, later picked up her mother at Palm Beach International Airport in the bullet-riddled SUV, and together they checked into a local motel, where authorities tracked her down and arrested her that afternoon.
Safari Night
A Miami Herald investigation revealed that for 18 months, a former spa magnate owner sold access to Donald Trump and his family. Li “Cindy” Yang, who made a name for herself both in Florida Republican Party fundraising circles — and in her native China — helped promote galas at Mar-a-Lago, selling them online as opportunities for Chinese businessmen to gain face time with the Trump family.
“Safari Night,” as the gala was called, attracted American social and political elites and it became an important networking opportunity for businessmen from overseas. Seats were marked up from the original $600 to $1,000. The ads also offered VIP packages for overnight stays at Mar-a-Lago — $10,000 for two nights, with spa and golf course access, according to one post from a member of a local Asian-American political group.
Looking for Kai Trump
In June 2025, a Texas man was arrested on charges of trespassing accused of jumping over an exterior wall of President Donald Trump’s South Florida estate.
The agents said that Thomas Reyes, 23, had “triggered alarms” after scaling the fence. When they spoke with the suspect, they said he told them the reason he was there: He wanted to “spread the gospel” to the president and also marry his eldest granddaughter, Kai, 18. The golf phenom is the daughter of Donald Trump Jr. and his former wife Vanessa Haydon.
At the gate
In January 2020, 34-year-old man from Indiana attempted to enter Mar-a-Lago, according to Palm beach police.
The police report states that around 7 p.m. on Jan. 6, the man attempted to enter Mar-a-Lago through a side entrance on Southern Boulevard, shouting that he wanted something. The specifics of what he shouted were redacted from the report.
A club security guard encountered the man at the gate. The man then returned to his black four-door vehicle parked in a lot across the street from the club, according to the report.
Club security called the Palm Beach Police Department. An officer arrived at the scene, stopped the vehicle and questioned the man.
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