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Armed man arrested at Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles County: Authorities

A sign is posted in front of the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles on June 16, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

(LOS ANGELES) – A man allegedly armed with a pistol was arrested after he was seen taking photos and videos of the Trump National Golf Club grounds in Los Angeles County over the weekend, authorities announced on Tuesday.

Following his arrest, detectives found more firearms and “multiple notebooks containing concerning statements” at the suspect’s residence, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The suspect was identified as 38-year-old Jeanine John Taele of Downey, California. Taele is being held on $250,000 bond and is expected to appear in court on Aug. 26.

Taele is charged in a federal criminal complaint with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, a felony carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

“While we are still investigating the motives of this individual, we are thankful he was apprehended before the President’s visit,” Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney, said in a statement. “Federal and local law enforcement stepped in early and prevented what could have been a dangerous situation from occurring. This investigation remains ongoing.”

The golf club incident occurred on Sunday, the sheriff’s department said, a day before it was announced that President Donald Trump is set to visit the Rancho Palos Verdes property this week for a Republican National Committee dinner.

Deputies responded to the golf course Sunday afternoon after plainclothes federal agents reported a “suspicious individual” who was seen walking on the grounds, taking photos and videos and “appearing to monitor security-planning activities,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a release on Tuesday.

Deputies detained the suspect, later identified as Taele, and located his vehicle in the golf club’s parking lot, the sheriff’s department said.

Deputies recovered a 16-round magazine containing hollow-point ammunition from his pants pocket, as well as a loaded pistol with a round chambered and an additional loaded magazine containing hollow-point ammunition from his vehicle, authorities said.

Taele was arrested for carrying a concealed firearm and possession of armor-piercing/prohibited ammunition, the sheriff’s department said.

Detectives executed a search warrant at Taele’s residence Monday afternoon due to the “potential security implications surrounding the incident” and recovered more firearms and ammunition, as well as “multiple notebooks containing concerning statements,” body armor and two radio signal devices, the sheriff’s department said. It did not elaborate on what was allegedly found in the notebooks.

Taele remains in custody, authorities said. Investigators presented the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office earlier Tuesday for filing consideration.

The incident remains under investigation in coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the United States Secret Service, the sheriff’s department said. Authorities have “identified no credible threat to our communities,” it said.

Trump is planning to attend an RNC dinner at his Rancho Palos Verdes golf club Tuesday evening, where he is set to deliver an economics-focused speech, according to the White House.

Last year, a jury found a man guilty of trying to assassinate Trump at his Florida golf course. Prosecutors said Ryan Routh hid in the bushes of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and pointed a military-grade SKS rifle towards Trump and a Secret Service agent. Routh was sentenced earlier this year to life in prison.

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Trump needs to get tough on China to get tough on Iran’s economy. He’s been reluctant to do that

By CNN
(CNN) — The Trump administration appears to have landed on a fallback strategy in the Iran war after military strikes and negotiations failed to deliver victory: threats of harsh economic sanctions.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called them the “toughest sanctions in history,” which will “collapse this regime.” He’s even called it an “economic D-Day” for Iran, comparing it to the historic invasion of Nazi-occupied France during World War II.There’s just one problem: Making good on those tough words requires not just getting tough on Iran, but also getting tough on China, which is Tehran’s No. 1 trading partner.And Trump and his administration have proved quite reluctant to do that.When Bessent rolled out the economic strategy Monday, he didn’t name specific countries that would be punished — or lay out timelines — if they don’t cut ties. And the announcement notably did not include secondary sanctions on the large Chinese banks that facilitate Beijing’s purchases from Iran.China buys as much as 90% of Iran’s oil. Economic analysts have told CNN that targeting these banks and Chinese companies would be crucial to exacting a major toll on Iran’s economy.But not for the first time in recent days, Bessent punted on exactly what would be done on that front. He suggested messages were being sent — saying “no one is above the reach of US sanctions” — but didn’t detail what will happen with China.“If they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted,” Bessent said. “We find that the best way to engage with countries is through quiet diplomacy.”He added: “So when the hammer of US Treasury actions falls upon them, they will have no one to blame but themselves.”But you could be forgiven for thinking this might be lots of sound and fury signifying relatively little.That’s because not only has the administration regularly backed off the threats it’s made in the Iran war, but it has a track record of treading gently around China, whose leader, Xi Jinping, is set to visit the White House next month.While Trump has made a big show about getting tough on China over the years, he backed off his trade war with Beijing in October, agreeing to a one-year truce. That followed shortly after Beijing upped its leverage by restricting access to critical rare-earth minerals and halting purchases of American soybeans.Trump last year also ignored federal law to help save the Chinese-owned video app TikTok, despite his first administration having labeled it a grave national security threat because of its ability to spy on Americans.Fast forward to Trump’s visit to China in May, and rather than pressing Xi publicly on a potential invasion of Taiwan, Trump made some major Taiwan-related rhetorical concessions.He also backed off his previous promises to get China to free Jimmy Lai, a former Hong Kong media tycoon who criticized the Chinese Community Party, as well as to ban Beijing from buying American farmland and to “aggressively” revoke Chinese student visas.By July, Trump delivered a primetime address in which he claimed China effectively interfered in the 2020 US election (which is not what the evidence actually showed). But rather than punish China for this seemingly major purported provocation, Trump downplayed the need for retaliation.The president seemed to prefer to use China to try to substantiate his still-baseless claims of stolen elections, without going to the trouble of holding the alleged thief accountable.And even in the context of the Iran war, Trump has been gentle with China.He has repeatedly shrugged off the idea that Beijing is helping Iran. And on his way back from China in May, he said he was considering lifting sanctions on Chinese companies that buy Iranian oil.Trump at the time was trying to secure a deal with Iran. But it’s telling that he’s been willing to telegraph potential carrots involving China, even as his administration is reluctant to publicly threaten to use the stick against it. In the latter case, it prefers “quiet diplomacy.”Also telling would seem to be Bessent’s comments Monday when CNN asked why the major secondary sanctions he previewed didn’t start immediately.“Well, we are giving everyone the opportunity to remedy bad behavior,” he said. “Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?”The administration appears well aware that getting tough on Iran would entail going after China — a risk that it might decide isn’t worth it.There’s an argument to be made that these topics are best addressed next month, during Xi’s state visit to Washington.But such pomp and circumstance can drain Trump of his resolve to get tough (as seen during his May visit to China) — and that’s if he even wants to get tough on China right now.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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