Key takeaways:
- Jeanine John Taele was arrested at Trump National Golf Club two days before Donald Trump was scheduled to attend a Republican National Committee fundraising dinner.
- Authorities said searches of Taele’s truck and Downey home uncovered a loaded 9mm pistol, an unregistered short-barreled AR-style rifle, body armor, ammunition and notebooks with “concerning statements.”
- Taele faces federal and state weapons charges, and Al Jazeera reported he pleaded not guilty Monday with bail set at $250,000.
A former Marine arrested at Donald Trump’s Los Angeles-area golf course days before a presidential visit is facing multiple weapons charges after authorities said they found a loaded pistol, body armor, an illegally modified rifle and notebooks containing “concerning statements.”
Jeanine John Taele, 38, was arrested Sunday at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, two days before Trump was scheduled to attend a fundraising dinner with the Republican National Committee. Authorities said Taele had approached federal agents and claimed he worked for the State Department and was there for a security detail.
Federal agents first observed Taele near the golf grounds on July 31, according to a federal criminal complaint filed in the Central District of California. He was wearing an earpiece and taking photographs and videos of security agents as they assessed the property, authorities said. He returned on Aug. 2 and was detained for what officials described as suspicious behavior.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies found a loaded magazine in Taele’s pocket, authorities said. A search of his pickup truck, parked at the golf club, turned up a loaded 9mm pistol, binoculars and a badge labeled “security protection agent,” according to federal prosecutors.
On Monday, law enforcement officers searched Taele’s home in Downey, a nearby city, and recovered additional weapons, officials said. The items included a.45-caliber pistol, body armor, magazines, ammunition and an illegally modified AR-style firearm. Federal authorities said they also found notebooks containing “concerning statements,” though the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office declined to describe the remarks.
Taele was charged federally with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle found at his home. The federal complaint alleges the weapon was an illegally modified AR-style rifle with a barrel cut down to 10 inches from 14 inches.
He was due in court Wednesday on the federal weapons charge, but the hearing was canceled. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office said Taele was being held at a downtown Los Angeles jail and was not yet in federal custody.
Court records show Taele also faces state charges: a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle and two felony counts involving possession of a short-barreled rifle or shotgun and the manufacture, importation or sale of a large-capacity magazine. Al Jazeera reported that Taele pleaded not guilty to all charges Monday and that bail was set at $250,000. He had already appeared in court on state weapons charges and a second-degree robbery charge tied to an unrelated earlier incident.
The Los Angeles County public defender’s office, which is representing Taele in the state criminal case, declined to comment.
“There is no room for error, particularly in light of previous attempts on President Trump’s life,” Patrick Grandy, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, said in a statement.
Trump addressed the arrest Tuesday in remarks to Fox News, saying “only consequential presidents” are targeted, “and I am definitely consequential,” which he said brought him “a little solace.”
Taele served as a corporal in the U.S. Marines, deployed to Iraq in 2008 and Afghanistan in 2010, and worked as a warehouse clerk, according to the Marine Corps. He earned numerous commendations, including an award for good conduct, during his service from 2008 to 2016.
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