A California man with weapons in his home and pickup truck was arrested over the weekend after he appeared to be monitoring security-planning activities at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles days before President Trump’s visit, authorities say.
Jeanine John Taele, 38, of Downey, Calif., was taken into custody at the golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., on Sunday. Taele is expected to make an initial appearance on Wednesday afternoon in federal court in downtown Los Angeles, where he is facing a firearm charge for allegedly possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle.
“While we are still investigating the motives of this individual, we are thankful he was apprehended before the President’s visit,” Bill Essayli, assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement announcing the charge. “Federal and local law enforcement stepped in early and prevented what could have been a dangerous situation from occurring.”
What happened?
Marine One arrives at the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., on Aug. 4.
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)According to prosecutors, federal agents who were conducting a security assessment at the golf club on July 31 ahead of Trump’s Aug. 4 visit spotted a suspicious individual, later identified as Taele, walking the course, “wearing an earpiece” and taking photos and videos of the agents before driving away.
Taele returned to the club on Aug. 2 and approached agents who were continuing their security assessment and “stated that he was employed by the State Department and was at the location for security detail,” according to the affidavit. He told them that he had a loaded firearm in his truck, which was parked in the parking lot.
Federal agents contacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. After deputies arrived and made contact with Taele, they learned he was under investigation for robbery in El Segundo, the sheriff’s department said.
When Taele was detained, police found a 16-round magazine containing hollow-point ammunition in his pants pockets.
A loaded 9mm pistol, a pair of binoculars and a badge that read, “security protection agent” were found in his pickup truck.
He was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed firearm and possession of armor-piercing or otherwise prohibited ammunition.
The FBI conducted a search of Taele’s home and recovered more weapons, including “an illegally modified AR platform rifle,” which led to the federal firearm charge; high-capacity magazines and ammunition; body armor; two “radio signal devices”; and “multiple notebooks containing concerning statements.”
Authorities did not elaborate on the nature of those statements.
Taele was charged in state court with second-degree robbery stemming from the prior case, carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle and other weapons-related offenses.
The investigation is ongoing, but the sheriff’s department said investigators have identified no credible threat to the community.
Trump says threats against him show he’s a ‘consequential president’
President Trump gives a thumbs-up after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport on Aug. 4.
(Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)The president arrived at the golf club on Tuesday for a Republican fundraiser, as planned.
In response to news of Taele’s arrest, Trump told Fox News that “the only thing I get a little solace from” is that such incidents appear to happen to “consequential presidents.”
“I am definitely consequential,” he added.
Trump has been the target of several assassination attempts, including the shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., in July 2024.
It’s also not the first time an armed individual has been arrested at a Trump golf course.
In September 2024, Ryan Routh was arrested and charged with attempted assassination after he was observed pointing a rifle near a fence at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., while Trump was on the course. Routh was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
