A judge has suspended criminal charges against a former U.S. Marine who authorities arrested at President Donald Trump’s Los Angeles-area golf course earlier this month.
Jeanine John Taele, 38, a veteran who toured both Iraq and Afghanistan, is claimed by authorities to have twice roamed the golf course grounds in August in advance of a Trump presidential visit. He is alleged to be wearing a radio earpiece and taking photos of Secret Service agents, along with being accused of possessing a round of ammunition and a gun in his vehicle.
Police arrested Taele and charged him with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle. At a state level, authorities charged him with receiving a large-capacity magazine, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a short-barreled rifle and robbery.
On Wednesday, Los Angeles County Judge John Lonergan Jr. dropped the charges and sent Taele to a mental health court in Hollywood.
Military.com reached out to the White House for comment.
He said the statements Taele made in a pretrial evaluation indicated he wasn’t mentally fit to stand trial. In the evaluation, Taele falsely insisted he had been a U.S. State Department official for 14 years.
Longergan also raised concerns about 200 pages of Taele’s writings that investigators found following his arrest. These writings included First Lady Melania Trump’s schedule, as well as the schedules of members of the president’s Secret Service.
“This case itself is alarming in this day and age with the violence that is creeping into our everyday lives, especially with our partisanship in the political environment” ahead of the midterms, Lonergan said.
Taele served in the Marines between 2008 and 2016, according to a Marine Corps spokesperson speaking to the Associated Press. He was a corporal and received two Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals, a Navy Unit Commendation, a National Defense Service Medal, and a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Had the judge not dropped the charges against him, Taele would have faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Lonergan declined to set bail for Taele, who will remain in jail until a Sept. 9 hearing at the Hollywood Mental Health Court.
Trump’s Security Fears
Taele’s arrest is the latest incident to spark concerns about Trump’s security.
On July 13, 2024, during a presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pa., 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired at Trump, piercing the upper part of Trump’s right ear. Secret Service snipers killed the shooter.
On September 15, 2024, authorities arrested Ryan Wesley Routh when he was spotted with a rifle by the perimeter of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. He was later sentenced to life in prison.
A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April, disrupting the event.
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