A 32-year-old Connecticut opera singer charged with driving through two checkpoints at Mar-a-Lago near resulting in the Secret Service and police firing at the vehicle was found not guilty by reason of insanity, a Florida judge ruled Tuesday.
During Tuesday's virtual hearing, Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer accepted Hannah Roemhild's not-guilty plea after she was determined to be temporarily insane at the time of the incident, The Palm Beach Post reported.
Roemhild's lawyers said she has a history of mental illness and had not been taking her medication when she drove through the checkpoints near then President Donald Trump's mansion in Palm Beach on January 31, 2020.
Court records showed Roemhild was found not guilty on two counts of resisting arrest, fleeing police and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, the Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors said they accepted the not-guilty plea citing Roemhild "does not create a substantial risk of injury to herself or others," according to the AP.
As part of her agreement, Roemhild is required to receive psychiatric treatment, attend counseling and take medication checked by monthly blood tests.
The Palm Beach Post said Roemhild faced federal charges for assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon but they were dropped in September after she was once again found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Florida law states a person can only be found not guilty by reason of insanity if the person did not know what they were doing, didn't know their actions were wrong, or understand the consequences of their actions because of mental illness, according to the AP.
The September court agreement had similar guidelines including requiring to meet with a therapist on a regular basis and be put back on medication. If she fails to comply with the order she could be committed to a psychiatric facility, The Palm Beach Post reported.
The six-mile police chase started at The Breakers hotel located about 2.5 miles away from Mar-a-Lago. USA Today reported police officers responded to a call about a woman behaving erratically and "doing some kind of dance," on top of a rented Jeep.
Roemhild refused to talk to officers once they arrived on the scene. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said officers attempted to bang on the window before smashing it in with a police baton in an attempt to get her to stop.
She drove away from the hotel and bypassed two checkpoints set up ahead of Trump's arrival. She then arrived at an unmarked Palm Beach Sherrif Office (PBSO) car and tried to drive around it. Two PBSO deputies and a secret service agent began firing at the vehicle, breaking her back window, according to AP.
Roemhild fled authorities and proceeded to drive to the Palm Beach International airport to pick up her mother. The pair went to a nearby motel, where Roemhild tried to run from authorities into her room but was arrested.
Roemhild told authorities people were trying to kill her and she was trying to escape them, the AP reported.
According to USA Today, no one was injured during the incident and authorities said Roemhild had no idea where she was going.
Roemhils has been living in a Conectituct residence since last year after she was released under federal supervision.
"[She] is relieved that these matters have been resolved and that she can go on living a normal, productive, healthy life," her attorney David Roth told The Palm Beach Post.
