An armed man was arrested at US President Donald Trump’s Los Angeles golf course just two days before the president’s planned visit, according to the local sheriff’s office.
Jeanine John Taele, 38, of nearby Downey, California, was taken into custody Sunday afternoon at the golf club in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Plainclothes federal agents saw Taele “walking throughout the golf course grounds taking photographs and videos and appearing to monitor security-planning activities,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Mr Trump arrived at the club by helicopter yesterday evening for a fundraising dinner hosted by the Republican National Committee.
Weapons found
Deputies searched Taele’s vehicle and discovered a loaded pistol, as well as a second loaded magazine containing hollow-point ammunition.
Donald Trump is seen departing the golf course following the fundraiser
Investigators with the sheriff’s department and the FBI’s counterterrorism unit later searched Taele’s home. They found an assault-style rifle, another pistol, a bulletproof vest, high-capacity magazines, ammunition, two radios and “multiple notebooks containing concerning statements.”
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will determine whether charges should be filed after investigators presented the case yesterday morning.
Mr Trump has faced several assassination attempts since beginning his latest presidential campaign.
During a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, a gunman killed one audience member and lightly wounded Mr Trump in the ear.
Months later, authorities arrested another armed man at a West Palm Beach golf course while Mr Trump was playing.
In April, Mr Trump was evacuated from a reception in Washington after an armed man tried to enter the venue, leading to a shootout with security personnel.
The president’s visit to his California golf club is closed to the press.
Mr Trump is expected to promote his record and raise money for the upcoming midterm elections, when his Republican Party is seeking to retain control of Congress.
Visits by Mr Trump to California, a Democratic stronghold he has frequently portrayed as the opposite of his vision for America, are uncommon.
Hours before the president arrived, California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat widely expected to seek the presidency in 2028, called on Mr Trump to release long-delayed federal reconstruction funds for communities devastated by the Los Angeles wildfires. Mr Newsom said the issue should rise above partisan politics and urged the president to honor his promise to help affected families.
