A 38-year-old California man has been arrested after being seen photographing and filming Donald Trump's golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, days before the president was due to arrive there for a fundraising event with the Republican National Committee.
Jeanine John Taele was taken into custody over the weekend by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies. The arrest came after plainclothes federal agents flagged him as a « suspicious individual », according to county officials. The agents said they had seen him on Sunday taking photographs and videos of the grounds of the Trump National Golf Club, a coastal venue south of Los Angeles.
When officers searched Taele after his detention, they found hollow-point ammunition in his pocket and a loaded weapon in his vehicle, according to reports. The discovery meant that the man suspected of monitoring the property was armed at the time he was observed, and that a weapon was also within reach in his car. Hollow-point ammunition is designed to expand on impact, making it a round of particular concern in a security context.
Trump was expected at the club within days of the incident to attend an event hosted alongside the Republican National Committee. Reports described the occasion as a fundraiser, with the president due to host it at the course. The event had drawn law enforcement attention to the area in advance, and it was during this period that Taele was spotted taking pictures of the grounds. Days later, the same venue was due to receive the president.
According to the account released by county officials, the sequence began on Sunday, when plainclothes federal agents noticed Taele's behaviour and began observing him. After watching him take photographs and videos of the golf grounds, the agents reported him as a suspicious individual, and sheriff's deputies carried out the arrest. Both the report and the arrest happened over the same weekend, with the president's visit still days away.
The arrest took place at the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, which is set in Rancho Palos Verdes, a coastal town south of Los Angeles. The club was the venue chosen for the president's event, and it was the property Taele had been seen recording days earlier.
The case involved two layers of law enforcement: the federal agents who first observed Taele and reported their concerns, and the Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies who responded to the report and detained him. Officials have not released further details about the case, including whether Taele will face charges or what investigators believe motivated his actions. They have also given no indication of when further information is likely to be published.
