LOS ANGELES — A man with weapons in his home and vehicle who appeared to be “monitoring security-planning activities” at the Los Angeles-area Trump National Golf Course was arrested days before a scheduled presidential visit, the county sheriff’s department said Tuesday.
Jeanine John Taele, 38, a resident of the Los Angeles-area city of Downey, was arrested Sunday at the course in Rancho Palos Verdes, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
The sheriff’s department said deputies found a loaded magazine with hollow-point bullets in Taele’s pants pocket after they’d been contacted by plainclothes federal agents regarding a suspicious person at 3:28 p.m. Sunday.
“The individual was observed walking throughout the golf course grounds taking photographs and videos and appearing to monitor security-planning activities,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.
In response to the incident, President Donald Trump told Fox News in brief remarks that he took “a little solace” from the fact that such incidents appear to only happen to “consequential presidents.” Adding, “I am definitely consequential.”
The department said deputies arrived and made contact with Taele and learned he was under investigation for robbery in the Los Angeles-area city of El Segundo. They also found a loaded pistol in his vehicle at the club’s parking lot, officials said.
Taele was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed firearm and possession of armor-piercing or otherwise prohibited ammunition, the sheriff’s department said.
Taele’s home was searched Monday, and an “illegally modified AR platform rifle,” a .45-caliber pistol, body armor, high-capacity magazines and ammunition were found, the sheriff’s department said.
“Multiple notebooks containing concerning statements” and two “radio signal devices” were also discovered, the sheriff’s department said.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli said in a statement Tuesday night that Taele has ben charged in a federal criminal complaint with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle. The top federal prosecutor for the Los Angeles region said the felony charge carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Secret Service agent Armando Marquez, who is in charge at the Los Angeles field office, said in a Wednesday statement that the case “is a strong example of the important work our agents do to keep the individuals we protect and our protected sites safe, starting well before each and every visit.”
“Since the moment our agents became aware of this individual, they’ve worked tirelessly with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and our federal partners to investigate this case,” Marquez said.
Taele’s arrest came two days before Trump was scheduled to visit Los Angeles and have a fundraiser at the golf resort. The sheriff’s department did not mention any direct threat to the president.
Trump arrived by Marine One helicopter at the golf resort at around 5:07 p.m. local time Tuesday, according to pool reports.
Taele has been charged in connection with the 2025 robbery, as well as the incident that began Sunday, according to a criminal complaint.
Jail records showed Taele was in custody Tuesday. Online court records did not appear to show an attorney for him Tuesday evening, and efforts to find a phone number connected with him were not immediately successful.
He is charged with second-degree robbery and also three other counts that deal with possessing a large-capacity magazine, having a concealed firearm in a vehicle and possession of a short-barreled rifle, records show.
Rancho Palos Verdes is in the Los Angeles area but is a separate city on the Pacific coast, around 20 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles.
In 2024, another man, Ryan Routh, was arrested in an assassination attempt on the president at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Routh, who the Justice Department said was observed pointing an AK-47 style rifle from a “sniper’s hide” near a fence on the border of the golf course, was convicted in 2025 and sentenced to life in prison in February.
