'Erratic' Mar-a-Lago Driver Won't Go to Court: Officials

Hannah Roemhild, 30, is also an opera singer
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 1, 2020 1:30 PM CST

The woman accused of driving through security near Mar-a-Lago on Friday is an opera singer who's refusing to appear in court, USA Today reports. Hannah Roemhild, 30, is slated to make an appearance Monday if deputies can get her there without endangering her or themselves, a judge said. The Connecticut resident, who goes by "Hannah Sopranah" on her Facebook page, is facing two charges of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer. Authorities say it began when a Florida Highway Patrol trooper spotted her "acting erratically" and "doing some kind of dance" on her rented Jeep SUV outside a Palm Beach hotel, per Heavy. That's when Roemhild allegedly got in the vehicle and the trooper approached her.

Seems the trooper tried tapping on the window to get her attention, then smashed the glass as she was about to pull away. Roemhild allegedly drove at high-speed through two security checkpoints near Trump's estate, endangering officers who fired at the vehicle. Officials say she picked up a female relative and went to a motel near Palm Beach International Airport, where automatic license plate readers spotted her SUV, and a trooper later arrested her as she tried to flee. Friends and colleagues tell the press they're totally shocked. "She is a lovely singer and was a lovely person," the head of a Connecticut opera house tells the Palm Beach Post. A posted bio says Roemhild has performed in The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, and a performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City. (More Mar-a-Lago stories.)

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