The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Secret Service are investigating the Sunday, Aug. 2 incident
Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Jeanine John Taele was arrested with weapons and ammunition after allegedly monitoring the “security-planning activities” ahead of a fundraiser for the president to be held at Trump National Golf Club in California
- On Monday, Aug. 3, authorities searched Taele’s home and found additional weapons, body armor, and concerning notebooks
- The FBI and Secret Service are investigating, but officials say there is no credible threat to the communities
A man arrived at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., with a loaded magazine and a loaded pistol on Sunday, Aug. 2, authorities said.
The man, identified as 38-year-old Jeanine John Taele, was “heavily armed” and roaming around the golf course, taking photographs and videos in an attempt “to monitor security-planning activities,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced on Tuesday, Aug. 4, hours before President Donald Trump is scheduled to host a Republican Party fundraiser at the course.
The Lomita Sheriff’s Deputies arrived at the scene at around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, located Taele’s vehicle and detained him in the golf course parking lot. They learned the El Segundo Police Department was investigating Taele for robbery, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office said.
The deputies discovered he was carrying a 16-round magazine containing hollow point ammunition in his pants pocket, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office said. Authorities also searched Taele’s car, where they found additional weapons, including a loaded pistol with a round chambered, along with an additional loaded magazine containing hollow point ammunition.
Taele was charged with carrying a concealed firearm and possession of armor-piercing/prohibited ammunition. He remains in custody, and additional charges could be added as the investigation continues.
Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty
L.A. County Sheriff’s Department deputies with the Major Crimes Bureau and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) also obtained and executed a search warrant on Monday, Aug. 3, at Taele’s residence. At his Downey, Calif. home, investigators recovered an illegally modified AR platform rifle, a 1911 .45 caliber pistol, an AR platform upper receiver, body armor, bulk pistol and rifle ammunition, high-capacity magazines, two radio signal devices and multiple notebooks containing concerning statements.
The FBI’s JTTF is investigating the incident with the Secret Service. The case was presented to the L.A. County district attorney’s office for filing consideration on Tuesday.
The investigators said there is “no credible threat to our communities.”
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The president was aboard Air Force One when the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest, reports The Los Angeles Times.
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