A Downey resident who appeared to be interested in security precautions and had weapons with him was arrested at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes over the weekend, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said on Tuesday, Aug. 4, just days before the president was scheduled to speak there at a fundraiser.
The suspect had a 16-round magazine of hollow-point ammunition in his pocket, and a loaded pistol with a round in the chamber and a second hollow-point ammunition magazine in his car, parked in a lot on golf course property, which deputies searched after finding that he was under investigation by El Segundo police for robbery, the Sheriff’s Department said.
UPDATE: Man arrested at Trump golf course in RPV allegedly had earpiece, told agents he was there for ‘security detail’
The man is a suspect in a strong-arm robbery that happened in El Segundo in November 2025, El Segundo police said.
Jeanine John Taele, 38, had been walking around the golf course taking photos and videos and “appearing to monitor security-planning activities” at the course, which the president has owned since 2002.
Plainclothes federal agents noticed Taele acting “suspicious” and reported that to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 2, according to that agency.
Taele was arrested Sunday on suspicion of carrying a concealed firearm and possession of armor-piercing/prohibited ammunition.
It is unclear if the suspect knew Trump would make an appearance this week at the golf course — the first news story about it apparently was published online at 3 a.m. Monday, Aug. 3.
At Taele’s home on Monday, Aug. 3 investigators found 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, as well as multiple notebooks containing “concerning statements” and two radio signal devices, the Sheriff’s Department said in its news release.
Trump was scheduled to speak at a Republican National Committee dinner on the property Tuesday evening, his first official visit to California since January 2025, when he visited Los Angeles in the aftermath of the Eaton and Palisades fires. He last visited his golf club in 2024, during his presidential campaign.
Taele remained in custody on Tuesday while the investigation continued.
In March, an Arizona man armed with a loaded rifle painted in a manner inspired by “Batman” villain the Joker was arrested near the Trump National Golf Club after deputies found him running through traffic in a ballistic vest. He also had two handguns.