Man arrested at Trump golf club possessed extensive notes on Secret Service and Melania Trump's schedule
A Downey resident accused of bringing a loaded firearm onto Trump National Golf Club was found with hundreds of pages documenting Secret Service agents and the First Lady's itinerary, and remains in custody pending further hearings.
A 38-year-old Downey man appeared before Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday after being charged with possessing a loaded pistol and other firearms at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes. Prosecutors said the defendant, identified as Jeanine John Taele, a former Marine, carried notebooks containing 208 pages of sketches of the golf course, lists of Secret Service schedules, details on individual agents and copies of Melania Trump's daily itinerary. He also possessed a 16-round hollow-point magazine, a loaded 9mm pistol, binoculars, a badge reading “security protection agent,” and an illegally modified short-barreled rifle found during a search of his vehicle and home.
Federal agents first observed Taele on July 31 while assessing security for President Donald Trump's scheduled visit on August 4. He returned on August 2, approached agents, claimed to work for the State Department and admitted the firearm was in his pickup truck. Sheriff’s deputies detained him after learning he was wanted in an unrelated robbery case. A subsequent search of his Downey residence uncovered additional firearms, body armor, high-capacity magazines and communications equipment.
"Anyone with that amount of firepower around the President poses a serious threat," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. He added that investigators had not determined a motive and described the conduct as "not normal behavior."
Taele, who served in the Marine Corps from 2008 to 2016 and earned several campaign medals, pleaded not guilty to four state charges, including felony possession of a short-barreled rifle, a large-capacity-magazine offense, second-degree robbery and a misdemeanor for carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle. He remains in custody after his bail was revoked, with a next court appearance scheduled for Sept. 9. The federal case, which includes an unregistered short-barreled rifle charge carrying a maximum ten-year sentence, has been postponed while he remains in state custody.