Politics

Man accused of Taylor Swift break-in now charged with 'doing donuts' on Trump's putting greens

Key Points
  • A man was charged with criminal mischief for causing upward of $20,000 worth of damage to putting greens at President Donald Trump's Bedminser, New Jersey, golf course by "doing 'donuts.'" with his car.
  • Richard McEwan of Milford, New Jersey, was charged with two alleged acts of vandalism at the Trump National Golf Course.
  • McEwan was previously arrested for allegedly breaking into a Rhode Island home owned by pop superstar Taylor Swift.
Richard J. McEwan
Source: Somerset County Prosecutor's Office

What do President Donald Trump and Taylor Swift have in common?

This guy.

A 26-year-old man was arrested Tuesday and charged with third-degree criminal mischief for causing upward of $20,000 worth of damage to putting greens at Trump's New Jersey golf course by "doing 'donuts'" on the grounds with his 2006 Ford Focus.

The same man, Rich McEwan of Milford, New Jersey, was arrested Aug. 30 for allegedly breaking into a Rhode Island home owned by the pop superstar Swift.

In that incident, McEwan told cops that he took off his shoes at Swift's door "to be polite," before going inside to look for her. No one was in the home at the time.

He was released on $5,000 bond after being charged with breaking and entering a home without the owner's consent and willful trespassing.

This booking photo released by the Westerly, R.I., Police Department shows Richard Joseph McEwan, of Milford, N.J., arrested on Friday, Aug. 30, 2019, and charged with breaking into Taylor Swift's oceanfront house in Westerly.
Source: Westerly Police Department via AP

On Tuesday, McEwan was charged with committing two recent separate acts of vandalism at the Trump National Golf Course, Bedminster.

The first allegedly occurred Sept. 3, while the second occured last Sunday, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, and Bedminster Township Police.

In the first incident, "Bedminster Township Police Department received a call reporting property damage to Trump National Golf Course, Bedminster, New Jersey," according to a press release.

"Upon arrival, Bedminster Police officers were advised that around 5:30 p.m., an employee of the golf course reported seeing a vehicle doing 'donuts' on the 11th hole of the golf course," the release said.

"The employee stated he was standing on the fairway when he heard loud music playing, turned and observed a Ford sedan occupied by one person doing 'donuts" on top of the 11th hole. A search of the area yielded a black piece of plastic labeled Ford that was left behind at the scene."

The damage in that incident was estimated to be more than $10,000.

A man practices on the putting green in Bedminster Township, New Jersey.
Getty Images

In the second incident, at around 3:36 p.m. cops were called about "a vehicle driving on the green of the 13th hole, doing 'donuts' which caused damage estimated to be between $7,000.00 and $9,000.00," the release said.

"Upon arrival of officers, a witness advised police that a blue Ford compact car with a Rutgers sticker on it was seen being driven by a younger white male. A partial license plate of the vehicle was obtained."

An investigation led to McEwan's arrest on Tuesday.

He was released pending a future court date.

A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization, when asked about McEwan's arrest, told CNBC, "He will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

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Trump has frequently visited Bedminster as president. An NBC News analysis published in April shows that the president spent slightly less than one-third of his days in office at a Trump-owned property, with most of those days at properties with golf courses.

That analysis found that Trump, while serving as president, had spent 90 days at Bedminster — making that the second most-visited Trump-owned location by him, after his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.