Feds Investigate Armed Man Arrested at Trump Golf Course Before President’s Visit
· Time
A man who was arrested Sunday afternoon at the Trump National Golf Club in Southern California faces federal and state charges after authorities found ammunition on him and a gun in his vehicle. The Secret Service is reportedly investigating whether the man posed a threat to President Donald Trump, who was due to visit the golf course on Tuesday.
On Friday, plainclothes federal agents noticed a “suspicious individual” on the golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes while they were conducting a security assessment ahead of Trump’s scheduled visit, according to a press release on Tuesday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for California’s Central District.
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The press release stated that the individual, later identified as Jeanine John Taele, 38, was seen wandering around the golf course while wearing an earpiece and taking photographs and videos of federal agents’ security-planning activities.
Taele returned to the golf course Sunday afternoon, prompting staff to alert federal agents, according to the press release, which alleged that Taele approached the federal agents and claimed the State Department hired him as part of a security detail.
Agents then contacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release. When they arrived at the club, the Sheriff’s Department deputies learned that Taele was wanted in connection with a 2025 robbery case out of El Segundo, Calif., before they detained him.
Deputies found a magazine with ammunition from Taele’s pants pocket, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, adding that a subsequent search of his pick-up truck in the golf club’s parking lot yielded a loaded pistol, an additional loaded magazine, a pair of binoculars, and a badge that read, “security protection agent.”
The Sheriff’s Department said detectives assigned to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force later searched Taele’s home in Downey, Calif., on Monday, where they found an “illegally modified” AR-platform rifle, a pistol, ammunition, body armor and magazines, and two radio signal devices. The Sheriff’s Department added they also found multiple notebooks containing what they described as “concerning statements,” though they did not elaborate on what those were.
An unnamed federal law enforcement source told CNN that the Secret Service is looking into whether the person posed a threat to Trump.
“While we are still investigating the motives of this individual, we are thankful he was apprehended before the President’s visit,” First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said in the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release. “Federal and local law enforcement stepped in early and prevented what could have been a dangerous situation from occurring. This investigation remains ongoing.”
At the state level, according to a felony complaint filed Tuesday in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Taele faces several firearms-related charges: carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle; possessing a short-barreled rifle or shotgun; and manufacturing, importing, keeping for sale, or giving or receiving a large-capacity magazine. He also faces the second-degree robbery charge for the incident in November 2025.
Venusse Dunn, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, told TIME that Taele pleaded not guilty at arraignment Tuesday. He was ordered not to possess weapons, to stay away from Trump’s golf course, and not to leave the state.
Taele remained in custody as of early Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Department told TIME, and he is set to appear in state court on Aug. 26. His bail is set at $250,000.
Taele is expected to appear for the first time in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He faces a federal charge of possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Authorities say that the man’s motives are still under investigation and have not publicly alleged that Taele planned an assassination attempt on Trump. But the incident at the Trump golf course recalls previous assassination attempts on the President.
Before his reelection, Trump’s right ear was wounded during an assassination attempt at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., in July 2024. Weeks later, another man attempted to assassinate Trump at a golf course Trump owns in Florida; the would-be assassin in that attempt was sentenced to life in prison earlier this year. And a California man was charged with an attempt to assassinate the U.S. President—after he tried to force entry into the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April and opened fire. The defendant, who was apprehended on the scene, has pleaded not guilty and the case is ongoing.
Despite the recent potential security concern, Trump appeared unfazed, suggesting to Fox News on Tuesday that such incidents only target Presidents with relevance: “The only thing I get a little solace from is they say only consequential Presidents, and I am definitely consequential.”