Investigators said Taele had approached golf course employees and falsely claimed he was a U.S. State Department employee seeking to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators today announced the weekend arrest of a man who was allegedly taking photos and videos at President Donald Trump‘s Rancho Palos Verdes golf club and “appearing to monitor security-planning activities.” Trump is scheduled to speak at a Republican National Committee fundraiser at the club tonight.
During the Saturday arrest, Jeanine John Taele, 38, of Downey, was also found to be carrying hollow-point ammunition in his pocket and a loaded weapon in his vehicle, which was parked at the Trump National Golf Club, according to the Sheriff’s Department. A subsequent search of his home found additional weapons, body armor, high-capacity ammunition magazines and “multiple notebooks containing concerning statements,” according to officials. It was unclear if the “concerning statements” included any threats of violence toward Trump.
There have been multiple similar incidents involving the president in the past few years, including what the FBI termed “an attempted assassination” at his West Palm Beach golf course in 2024. That came after an assassination attempt in Butler, PA, in July that year.
Taele was being held without bail, according to county jail records.
Sheriff’s officials said they presented the investigation to the District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday for consideration of criminal charges.
According to the Sheriff’s Department, deputies were called to the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes around 3:30 p.m. Sunday by federal agents who spotted a “suspicious individual” on the property.
Deputies detained Taele and discovered he was being investigated by police in nearby El Segundo on suspicion of robbery. While detaining Taele, deputies found a 16-round magazine containing hollow-point ammunition in a pants pocket. Deputies also searched his vehicle and found “a loaded pistol with a round chambered, along with an additional loaded magazine containing hollow point ammunition,” according to the sheriff’s department.
Taele was arrested and booked on suspicion of carrying a concealed firearm and possession of armor-piercing/prohibited ammunition.
Sheriff’s detectives assigned to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force served a warrant Monday at Taele’s home. According to the sheriff’s department, investigators found:
- an illegally modified AR platform rifle
- a 1911 .45-caliber pistol
- an AR platform upper receiver
- body armor
- high-capacity magazines
- bulk pistol and rifle ammunition
- two radio signal devices
This is gonna be interesting….
