Man claiming to be Trump's nephew committed after trying to enter Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach
The man was taken to a facility where he was involuntarily committed for evaluation after the Feb. 21 incident at Trump's Palm Beach home, police said.
The man, who was not identified in a Palm Beach incident report, told officers that he was related to several world leaders.
Florida's Baker Act allows officials to involuntarily commit people who may be experiencing mental health crises to facilities for evaluation and treatment.
A man who claimed to be President Donald Trump's nephew went to the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach on Feb. 21 to meet with the 47th leader of the United States, police said.
The man made claims that indicated he could be a threat to himself or others, prompting them to take him to a mental health facility, according to a Palm Beach Police incident report.
The man — whose name and age were redacted from an incident report — walked to Mar-a-Lago after leaving his belongings on the Southern Boulevard Bridge about 3:20 p.m. Feb. 21.
Mar-a-Lago is under heavy protection from law enforcement agencies including the U.S. Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. All vehicles that enter the property must first pass through the Bath & Tennis Club parking lot that is just south of the club.
The Secret Service stopped the man in that parking lot, and the man reportedly told officers that he was there to see his uncle, Trump, who left Palm Beach on Feb. 19 for a quick trip to Miami Beach before returning to Washington, D.C., that night.
The man does not have a place to live, he told police. He also is diagnosed with a mental health condition but does not take his medication because, he told officers, "he does not want to be under any control."
The man also told officers that his wife and son were murdered by people who want to kill him, and he wants to kill the people responsible, the report said.
Officers noted in the report that the man previously had been committed to mental health facilities under Florida's Baker Act, also known as the Florida Mental Health Act, which allows people who may be experiencing a mental health crisis to be involuntarily committed to a facility for evaluation and treatment, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
A Palm Beach police officer took the man to a Baker Act intake facility, where he was evaluated, the report said. There is no further information about the man's status.
The man told officers that his belongings were on the bridge, and an officer stopped to pick up some of those items, according to the incident report.
The officer told the man not to return to Mar-a-Lago, the report said. It appears the man was issued a trespass warning, though the details are redacted from the report.
The man is the latest person to be involved in an incident with law enforcement at Mar-a-Lago.
The Secret Service on Feb. 13 arrested St. Petersburg resident Jeffrey Daniel Olson, who they said jumped over a wall along South Ocean Boulevard and was stopped on Mar-a-Lago's east lawn.
Olson was the second person to be arrested for trespassing at Mar-a-Lago since Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. Bijan Arceo, 32, of Sunny Isles Beach was arrested by Palm Beach police on Jan. 22 after he also jumped over a wall on the east side of Mar-a-Lago.
During both of those arrests, Trump was in Washington, D.C.
The Secret Service increased security around Mar-a-Lago and all of Trump's properties after July 13, when a gunman shot at and and injured Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Two other people were injured and one was killed during that incident.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.
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