TORRANCE, Ca. (AP) , A former U.S. Marine arrested at President Donald Trump’s Los Angeles-area golf course with ammunition and a gun in his vehicle has had criminal charges against him suspended by a judge while he undergoes a psychiatric evaluation.
Los Angeles County Judge John Lonergan Jr. transferred Jeanine John Taele, 38, to a mental health court in Hollywood after the 38-year-old made statements during a pretrial evaluation suggesting he was not mentally competent to stand trial. In that evaluation, Taele falsely claimed he had served as a State Department official for 14 years.
Earlier this month, when Taele was taken into custody, he was spotted wearing an earpiece and photographing the golf course where Trump was expected to attend a Republican National Committee dinner. The event was held at Trump National Golf Course Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, just south of the city.
Investigators searching his pickup truck in the golf course parking lot discovered a loaded 9mm pistol, binoculars and a badge reading “security protection agent,” according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
Lonergan voiced particular concern about roughly 200 pages of writings that investigators recovered following the arrest. The documents contained schedules for first lady Melania Trump and members of the president’s Secret Service, along with detailed lists outlining how to survive “off the grid.” The judge did not indicate whether the writings reflected any specific political motives or ideologies.
“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.
The judge also referenced an earlier arrest in November 2025 at an AT&T store, where Taele accused an employee of surveilling him with Meta Glasses, took the glasses and was observed muttering to himself in the parking lot. He faced a second-degree robbery charge in connection with that incident.
Taele had been charged with multiple felonies, including possession of a short-barreled rifle or shotgun and receiving a large-capacity magazine. He also faced a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle.
Appearing in the Torrance, California, courtroom Wednesday , weeks after his Aug. 5 arrest , Taele wore a vest designed to prevent self-harm or suicide attempts. Nearly a dozen family members and friends watched tearfully from the gallery.
Lonergan declined to set bail, and Taele will remain in jail until a Sept. 9 hearing at the Hollywood Mental Health Court.
Taele’s attorney, public defender A.J. Bayne, said it was premature to determine whether Taele’s mental health would factor into his legal defense.
“He’s a veteran, he served our country, and I don’t know enough right now, but he has a family that loves him, that has huge support for him,” Bayne said, adding that “people assume too much” about Taele’s motives on the day he was arrested at the golf course.
According to a Marine Corps spokesperson, Taele is a decorated former Marine who completed two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2008 and 2016. As a corporal, he earned multiple honors, including two Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals, a Navy Unit Commendation, a National Defense Service Medal and a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.