Jeanine John Taele federally charged after being seen scouting security ahead of Trump's LA golf club visit: DOJ

The armed California man who was arrested outside Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles on Sunday with an arsenal of weapons and body armor was charged in a federal criminal complaint with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, a felony carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced on Wednesday.

Essayli also revealed that Jeanine John Taele, 38, was detained after being seen taking suspicious pictures and videos of security ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to the golf club. Taele also faces separate firearm-related charges in Los Angeles Superior Court and was granted $250,000 bail in that case.

"Taele was detained after being seen taking photos and video of security-planning activities ahead of President Trump’s visit to the golf club today. LASD deputies found ammunition in Taele’s pocket, searched his vehicle, and seized a loaded pistol with a round chambered and a loaded magazine. A search of Taele’s residence seized high-powered firearms, ammunition, body armor, and a notebook. Taele is charged in Los Angeles Superior Court with firearms-related crimes and a 2025 robbery. He was granted $250,000 bail in that case," Essayli said. 

Patrick Gradny, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, called Taele's behavior troubling and referenced previous threats on the president's life in a DOJ press release.

"Mr. Taele's troubling behavior at the President's public golf course merely days before the President was expected to arrive raised serious red flags for law enforcement and led to the discovery of an unregistered firearm, a loaded weapon, as well as additional items of concern," said Grandy. "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."

According to the affidavit, federal agents first spotted Taele during a July 31 security assessment ahead of President Donald Trump's Aug. 4 visit after he was seen wearing an earpiece and photographing security preparations around the golf course. Authorities said Taele returned on Aug. 2, falsely claimed to be part of the State Department's security detail and admitted to having a loaded firearm in his vehicle. Investigators later recovered a loaded handgun from his truck and an illegally modified AR-platform rifle, body armor, high-capacity magazines, and other tactical equipment from his home.

While authorities had not, as of Wednesday, confirmed the California incident was a plot to assassinate the president, it comes months after the most recent known assassination attempt targeting Trump. On April 25, during the White House Correspondents' Dinner, authorities say 31-year-old Cole Allen charged a security checkpoint with a rifle before being stopped by the Secret Service after an exchange of gunfire. According to investigators, Allen said in a manifesto that he intended to target Trump and other administration officials.