Armed man arrested at Trump golf course allegedly had first lady’s schedule, notes on Secret Service: reports

Judge suspends criminal proceedings after a pretrial evaluation indicated Jeanine John Taele was not mentally fit to stand trial

August 26, 2026 10:29pm EDT / Fox News

By Jasmine Baehr

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6404104782112

Suspect who showed up at Trump’s golf course armed had Melania Trump’s schedule

Fox News chief Washington correspondent Mike Emanuel has the latest on the court appearance on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

An armed man arrested Aug. 2 at President Donald Trump’s California golf course allegedly had first lady Melania Trump’s schedule and detailed information about U.S. Secret Service (USSS) personnel, according to reports.

Jeanine John Taele, 38, had more than 200 pages of writings that included schedules for the first lady and members of the president’s USSS detail, The Associated Press reported, citing information revealed during a Los Angeles County court hearing Wednesday.

The New York Post reported that prosecutors said Taele had seven notebooks containing 208 pages of drawings and sketches of Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, lists of USSS schedules, details about individual security personnel and copies of Melania Trump’s schedule.

MAN ARRESTED AT TRUMP GOLF COURSE AHEAD OF PRESIDENT’S VISIT ALLEGEDLY HAD WEAPONS CACHE

Jeanine John Taele, 38, pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges stemming from his arrest outside the golf course days before President Donald Trump’s scheduled visit.(FBI)

The writings also included detailed lists about surviving “off the grid,” according to the AP.

Los Angeles County Judge John Lonergan Jr. called the allegations “alarming” during Wednesday’s hearing.

“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, according to the AP.

The judge suspended criminal proceedings after a pretrial evaluation indicated Taele was not mentally fit to stand trial and sent the case to a mental health court, the AP reported.

TRUMP’S DECADE OF ASSASSINATION THREATS RUNS FROM BUTLER SHOOTING TO LATEST GOLF CLUB BREACH

The entrance to Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.(John Antczak/AP Photo, File)

Taele was arrested earlier this month after plainclothes federal agents spotted him walking the grounds of the golf club, taking photographs and videos and appearing to monitor security-planning activities ahead of Trump’s visit, Fox News Digital previously reported.

Deputies who detained Taele allegedly found a 16-round magazine loaded with hollow-point ammunition in his pants pocket, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Authorities searched his vehicle and recovered a loaded pistol with a round in the chamber and another magazine containing hollow-point ammunition.

RECORDS REVEAL THE MASSIVE ARSENAL OHIO MAN ALLEGEDLY BUILT TO ATTACK WHITE HOUSE UFC EVENT

Marine One arrives at the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, Aug. 4, in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Taele claimed he worked for the State Department and was at the golf course for a security detail.

Investigators later searched Taele’s Downey home and recovered an illegally modified AR-platform rifle, a .45-caliber pistol, body armor, high-capacity magazines, bulk ammunition, radio signal devices and multiple notebooks containing what authorities described at the time as “concerning statements.”

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, USSS and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have been investigating the case.

SECRET SERVICE MISSED ‘MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES’ TO PREVENT TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: WATCHDOG

Roadside view of the clubhouse of Trump National Golf Club LA in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.(stock)

Taele, a Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, will remain jailed until a Sept. 9 hearing at Hollywood Mental Health Court, according to the AP.

Taele’s public defender, A.J. Bayne, cautioned against drawing conclusions about his client’s motives.

“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 told the AP, adding that “people assume too much” about Taele’s motives.

The USSS previously told Fox News Digital that it does not comment on specific protective intelligence matters, but “thoroughly investigates any information or activity that may reasonably be perceived as a protective intelligence concern or indicate a potential threat or directed interest toward any individual under Secret Service protection.”

VIRGINIA MAN ACQUITTED BY INSANITY IN KILLING FLEES US DURING 48-HOUR MENTAL HOSPITAL PASS

Trump National Golf Club LA in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.(RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Trump addressed the arrest earlier this month.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Well, the only thing I get a little solace from is, they say only consequential presidents. And I am definitely consequential,” Trump said during an appearance on “Fox News @ Night.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the Office of the First Lady for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price and Landon Mion contributed to this reporting.

Jasmine Baehr is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital, where she covers politics, the military, legal debates surrounding life and family policy, as well as faith and culture.