Armed man arrested near Trump golf course is sent to mental health court

LOS ANGELES – A man arrested in August with a loaded gun near the Trump National Golf Club near Los Angeles must be evaluated by a mental health court before criminal proceedings can continue, a judge ruled on Aug 26.The man, Jeanine John Taele of Downey, California, 38, was charged with weapons violations after authorities arrested him just days before President Donald Trump arrived to speak at a fundraiser.On Aug 26, the judge, John J. Lonergan Jr of Los Angeles County Superior Court, ruled that Taele was unfit to face criminal proceedings. Lonergan denied bail to Taele, who appeared in court wearing a suicide prevention gown.Anthony Bayne, a lawyer for Taele, said in court that his client was not able to understand or participate in his defence.Prosecutors have said that Taele, a former Marine and licensed security guard, was first seen at the golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, an affluent coastal community, on July 31.He was wearing an earpiece and took photographs and filmed federal agents conducting “security-planning activities”, the prosecutor’s office said.Federal agents in plainclothes reported seeing Taele two days later, taking photos of the course and observing security preparations, authorities said.During that second visit, Taele approached federal agents and “stated that he was employed by the State Department and was at the location for security detail”, the prosecutor’s office said.Taele also told the agents that he had a loaded gun in his car, which was in the parking lot, according to prosecutors.Federal agents contacted the sheriff’s office, and deputies found Taele carrying a 16-round magazine with hollow-point rounds in his pocket.Inside his car, they found a loaded pistol with a magazine containing more hollow-point ammunition; binoculars; and a badge that read “security protection agent”, the prosecutor’s office said.A search that week of Taele’s home in Downey, a city of just over 100,000 people in suburban Los Angeles County, turned up a cache of firearms and materiel, including an illegally modified AR-15-style rifle, a .45-caliber pistol, body armour, high-capacity magazines, ammunition and radio equipment, officials said.Detectives also found notebooks containing “concerning statements”, authorities said.Lonergan on Aug 26 said he had seen a notebook with sketches of the Trump golf course and a list purporting to be the names of Secret Service agents, as well as their roles and schedules.Taele also faces federal charges of possessing an unregistered short-barrelled rifle, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.No one answered the door at an address listed for Taele when a New York Times reporter visited in August. Neighbours said they did not know him. Efforts to reach Taele’s family by phone were unsuccessful.According to state records, Taele previously held gun permits, including one for a handgun that was suspended when his security guard licence lapsed in 2025.The US Marine Corps said he had served between 2008 and 2016, including deployments to Iraq from 2008 to 2009 and to Afghanistan in 2010.Taele reached the rank of corporal in 2011 and received several medals and other awards, the Marine Corps said.He also worked as a warehouse clerk, with his final assignment at Camp Pendleton, California, though it was unclear from records when that was.Taele will appear for the mental health evaluation on Sept 9. NYTIMESThis article originally appeared in The New York Times.