With Trump in town, Mar-a-Lago members must leave their pepper spray, knives at home

Mar-a-Lago.
(Image credit: Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump is spending Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago, his gilded private club in Palm Beach, Florida, and the members who pay $15,000 a year in dues have to start following special rules that go into effect when Trump's on the premises.

A notice was sent out Monday reminding members that they'll have to go through Secret Service checkpoints, which will likely take 10 to 20 minutes, Politico reports. "Pocket knives, laser pointers, pepper spray, and any other items deemed to be a safety hazard are not permitted on property," the memo said. "Any items surrendered will not be returned." Members are also only allowed to bring two guests at a time to the club, and all of the rules are enough to keep some people away. "We plan not to be there when he's there," one longtime member told Politico. "When he's there, it's a mess."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.