Judge Halts Case Against Marine at Trump Course
Judge Halts Case Against Marine at Trump Course
The News
A Los Angeles County judge on Wednesday suspended criminal proceedings against Jeanine John Taele, 38, a former Marine arrested at President Donald Trump's Los Angeles-area golf course with a gun and ammunition in his truck, after a pretrial evaluation found he was not mentally fit to stand trial.
Judge John Lonergan Jr. referred Taele to a mental health court in Hollywood. During the evaluation, Taele falsely claimed he had worked as a State Department official for 14 years.
Lonergan declined to set bail. Taele stays in jail until a Sept. 9 hearing.
The Charges
Taele was charged with several felonies, including possession of a short-barreled rifle or shotgun and receiving a large-capacity magazine, plus a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle. Those charges are now suspended while his competency is assessed.
Timeline
Taele is arrested at an AT&T store after accusing an employee of spying on him with Meta Glasses, stealing the glasses and being found muttering to himself in the parking lot. He was charged with second-degree robbery.
Taele is arrested at Trump National Golf Course Los Angeles in Rancho Palos Verdes, where Trump was due to attend a Republican National Committee dinner. Witnesses saw him wearing an earpiece and photographing the course. A search of his pickup in the parking lot turned up a loaded 9 mm pistol, binoculars and a badge reading "security protection agent," according to the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles.
Taele appears in a Torrance courtroom in a vest designed to prevent self-harm. Lonergan suspends the case and sends him to Hollywood Mental Health Court. Nearly a dozen family members and friends watch tearfully.
Reactions
Lonergan said he was particularly concerned by roughly 200 pages of Taele's writings that investigators found after the arrest. They included schedules for first lady Melania Trump and members of the president's Secret Service detail, along with detailed lists for surviving "off the grid." The judge did not say whether the writings contained any specific political motive or ideology.
"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.
Public defender A.J. Bayne said it was too early to say whether his client's mental health would factor into the 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 the day he was arrested.
What's Next
Taele remains in custody without bail ahead of the Sept. 9 hearing at the Hollywood Mental Health Court. The criminal case stays frozen unless and until he is found competent to stand trial.
More
Taele is a decorated Marine who served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2008 and 2016, according to the Marine Corps. He was a corporal whose awards included two Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals, a Navy Unit Commendation, a National Defense Service Medal and a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
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