A former U.S. Marine who lives in Downey and was arrested by federal agents at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes over the weekend had told agents he was employed by the State Department and at the site for a security detail, federal authorities said while announcing charges against him.
Jeanine John Taele, 38, who was wearing an earpiece, took photographs and filmed videos of federal agents’ security-planning activities at the property on Friday, July 31, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, just days before the president’s Tuesday, Aug. 4 visit to his golf course for a fundraiser.
Taele was a corporal in the U.S. Marines, deployed to Iraq in 2008 for about five months and to Afghanistan in 2010 for roughly six months; he worked as a warehouse clerk, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Marine Corps in Washington, D.C.
He earned various typical commendations, including an award for good conduct during his service from 2008 to 2016. None of these awards were personal or valor awards. His last duty assignment was at Camp Pendleton.
State records show Taele is a licensed security guard. His most-recent license was issued in February and expires in 2028. Records also show several cancelled or suspended permits to carry a firearm as a security guard.
Various weapons were tied to the the suspect, found in his vehicle or at this home, authorities say. (Courtesy of First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essalyi)
“Federal agents conducted a security assessment at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes taken in advance of a visit to the club by President Donald J. Trump on August 4,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release.
Taele returned two days later, on Sunday, Aug. 2, when he was spotted, by the golf course staff who alerted agents, acting “suspicious.”
Federal authorities called the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Taele allegedly admitted to having a loaded firearm in the car he had driven, which was parked in the Trump golf course parking lot.
“(And) Taele approached the federal agents and stated that he was employed by the State Department and was at the location for security detail,” the press release said.
Inside the 2012 Toyota Tundra pickup truck he was driving, authorities found a loaded 9-millimeter pistol with a magazine containing hollow-point ammunition, a pair of binoculars and a badge that read “security protection agent,” federal authorities said.
A license plate on the pickup, authorities said, does not match the vehicle, according to Department of Motor Vehicle records. It had not been legally in use since 2022. Taele is not the registered owner of such a vehicle, state records show.
“While we are still investigating the motives of this individual, we are thankful he was apprehended before the President’s visit,” said Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney. “Federal and local law enforcement stepped in early and prevented what could have been a dangerous situation from occurring.”
It was unclear if Taele was aware that President Trump would be visiting the club on Tuesday, as the first news story about it appeared to be published online at 3 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 3, the day after Taele’s second visit and arrest.
In federal court, Taele was charged Tuesday with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, which has a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, authorities said. He was being held without the possibility of bail for now.
In state court, a criminal complaint shows, he also faces four charges tied to the allegations at Trump’s golf course that include a felony count of manufacturing, importing, keeping for sale, giving or receiving a large-capacity magazine and a count of carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle. On Tuesday, Taele pleaded not guilty to those charges.
At the time of his arrest, Taele was under investigation by the El Segundo Police Department on suspicion of committing a robbery in November 2025, El Segundo police said.
The suspect had a badge, authorities say. (Courtesy of First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essalyi)
After he was taken into custody, a search warrant served at his home Monday, Aug. 3 uncovered an illegally modified AR platform rifle, a 1911 .45-caliber pistol, an AR platform upper receiver, body armor, high-capacity magazines, bulk pistol and rifle ammunition and notebooks containing “concerning statements,” according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which announced the arrest on Tuesday.
“There is no room for error, particularly in light of previous attempts on President Trump’s life, and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, working with our partners at the U.S. Secret Service, the ATF, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, will investigate this case thoroughly,” said Patrick Grandy, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, in a statement.