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A California man was arrested Sunday at Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes after allegedly monitoring security activities days before the president’s scheduled visit, authorities said. The suspect was found with a disturbing cache of weapons and what investigators described as “concerning statements” in his notebooks.
Jeanine John Taele, 38, of Downey, California, was taken into custody after plainclothes federal agents spotted him walking the golf course grounds, taking photographs and videos while appearing to monitor security-planning activities, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies responded around 3:30 p.m. and quickly discovered Taele was already under investigation for robbery by the El Segundo Police Department. During a pat-down, deputies allegedly recovered a 16-round magazine loaded with hollow-point ammunition from his pants pocket.
A search of his vehicle, parked in the golf course lot, revealed even more alarming items: a loaded pistol with a round chambered, along with another loaded magazine containing hollow-point ammunition. The discovery prompted detectives with the Sheriff’s Department’s Major Crimes Bureau, assigned to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, to obtain a search warrant for Taele’s Downey home.
What investigators found there raises serious questions about his intentions. Authorities recovered 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, two radio signal devices, and multiple notebooks containing what authorities described as “concerning statements.”
The investigation is being conducted jointly by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the U.S. Secret Service. Officials said additional charges could be filed as the investigation continues.
This arrest comes amid heightened security concerns for the former and potentially future president. How many more threats are out there that we don’t know about?
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