Police arrest 2 near Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort
January 31, 2020
Officers from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office (PBSO) detained a 30-year-old woman and a female accomplice following a car and helicopter pursuit on Friday near President Donald Trump's Florida resort.
The 30-year-old had driven through two checkpoints at high speed, along with the other woman, which led to law enforcement authorities firing "multiple" shots at the black sport utility that had breached security.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw identified the intruder as Hannah Roemhild. He added she wasn't "even remotely close" to getting into the "inner perimeter" of the resort. Bradshaw also said that Roemhild was impaired.
Earlier on Friday, a media alert from the PBSO said: "FHP was in pursuit of a black SUV. The black SUV was headed towards two security checkpoints at Mar-a-Lago, in the town of Palm Beach. The SUV breached both security checkpoints heading towards the main entrance. Officials (still trying to determine) discharged their firearms at the vehicle."
"The vehicle fled while being pursued by FHP and PBSO helicopter. The vehicle has now been located and two individuals are currently in custody."
The statement made no mention of possible injuries and this was later confirmed at a press conference hosted by the PBSO at 3.30 p.m. local time (2030 UTC/GMT) as the world's media gathered on nearby lawns.
The PBSO also confirmed that the incident was not an act of terrorism.
Mar-a-Lago, the luxury resort owned by President Trump, has been the scene of several intrusions since Trump became president.
Trump was in the White House in Washington, D.C. at the time of the incident, though he had plans to go to the resort with his wife Melania later on Friday afternoon. The president was made aware of the occurrence, said press secretary Stephanie Grisham, but there would be no changes to his travel plans.
msh, jsi/kp (AP, Reuters)