Marine Veteran Accused of Possessing Trump Golf Club Surveillance Materials, Weapons

By Maine News Now Staff

A 38-year-old former Marine who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan was arrested earlier this month after authorities say he was found with detailed schedules of First Lady Melania Trump and extensive information about U.S. Secret Service personnel assigned to protect the former president.

Jeanine John Taele was taken into custody on August 2 at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, located in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. Plainclothes federal agents observed Taele walking the grounds of the golf club, taking photographs and videos, and appearing to monitor security-planning activities ahead of Donald Trump's visit, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

During the arrest, deputies discovered a 16-round magazine loaded with hollow-point ammunition in Taele's pants pocket. A subsequent search of his vehicle yielded a loaded pistol with a round in the chamber and an additional magazine containing hollow-point ammunition.

Investigators later obtained a warrant to search Taele's home in Downey, where they recovered an illegally modified AR-platform rifle, a .45-caliber pistol, body armor, high-capacity magazines, bulk ammunition, radio signal devices, and multiple notebooks described by authorities at the time as containing "concerning statements."

According to reports from the Associated Press, prosecutors revealed during a Los Angeles County court hearing that Taele possessed seven notebooks containing 208 pages of drawings and sketches depicting the golf club, lists of Secret Service schedules, details about individual security personnel, copies of Melania Trump's itinerary, and detailed information about surviving "off the grid."

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge John Lonergan Jr. presided over Wednesday's hearing and expressed grave concern about the allegations.

"This case itself is alarming in this day and age with the violence that is creeping into our everyday lives, especially with our partisanship in the political environment," Lonergan said, noting the timing ahead of midterm elections.

The judge suspended criminal proceedings after a pretrial evaluation determined Taele was not mentally fit to stand trial. The case has been transferred to mental health court, and Taele will remain jailed pending a September 9 hearing at Hollywood Mental Health Court.

Taele, who claimed to work for the State Department and told authorities he was present at the golf club as part of a security detail, is being investigated by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

His public defender, A.J. Bayne, urged caution against speculation regarding his client's motives.

"He's a veteran, he served our country, and I don't know enough right now, but he has a family that loves him, that has huge support for him," Bayne told the Associated Press. "People assume too much."

The Secret Service declined to comment on specific protective intelligence matters but stated it "thoroughly investigates any information or activity that may reasonably be perceived as a protective intelligence concern or indicate a potential threat or directed interest toward any individual under Secret Service protection."

Trump himself addressed the arrest during a subsequent appearance on Fox News @ Night.

"Well, the only thing I get a little solace from is, they say only consequential presidents. And I am definitely consequential," the former president said.