A Richmond couple is facing trespassing and resisting arrest charges in Florida after driving onto President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property.
The incident happened on March 11, and on March 12, Aaron Mennie and Katherine Poon were charged with the two misdemeanors in Palm Beach County, Fla.
They both pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Bail was set at $10,000 per charge for both Mennie and Poon – this was later lowered to $5,000 per charge. They also had to surrender their travel documents and were told to have no contact with the Mar-a-Lago property.
The arresting officer, in his probable cause affidavit, alleges the couple left the property after being told to do so, but they were found at the rear of the property later. The officer alleges he asked them to get out of the car and they refused. He then used his baton to break the window of the car in order to arrest them.
Steveston-Richmond East MP Kenny Chiu sent a letter to the judge, August Bonavita, in support of the couple, saying they are his constituents, they are “good citizens” and they have no criminal record.
“It is my understanding this was an innocent mistake made by weary tourists in an unfamiliar area,” Chiu’s letter states, asking the judge to “provide them with all due leniency” in the decision.
The charges are “trespass after warning” and “resist officer without violence.”
A plea conference has been set for Sept. 2.
