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

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

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 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 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 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 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 addressed the arrest earlier this month. “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.

Hawley rips Flock’s sprawling surveillance web as Texas cities cut cameras over privacy and data fears

Hawley rips Flock’s sprawling surveillance web as Texas cities cut cameras over privacy and data fears

Sen. Josh Hawley is demanding answers from Flock Safety over whether its rapidly expanding network of AI-powered cameras has helped create a searchable national database of Americans’ movements as communities across the country pull the plug on the technology amid mounting privacy concerns. “Flock has assembled an unprecedented national surveillance network,” Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital. “They boast more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states and more than 20 billion vehicle scans every month.” “I’m investigating Flock cameras to determine who has access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ data and what they’re doing with it,” he added. “Americans deserve answers.” POWERFUL CRIME-FIGHTING SURVEILLANCE GROWTH SPURS LAWMAKERS TO ISSUE WARNING: ‘ORWELLIAN’ Robert Frommer, director of the Institute for Justice’s Project on the Fourth Amendment, told Fox News Digital the core concern is not simply the use of cameras, but police being able to search a person’s past movements without first getting approval from a judge. “The No. 1 reform that I think is needed here is a warrant,” Frommer said. “Go to a judge, explain to the judge why you should be able to use this tool.” FLOCK SAFETY CAMERAS NEED CONSTITUTIONAL GUARDRAILS BEFORE FURTHER DEPLOYMENT, TENNESSEE MAYOR ARGUES Frommer said police should still be able to act immediately in genuine emergencies, including cases involving imminent danger or missing people, but should be required to justify the search afterward if there was no time to obtain a warrant. “Most law enforcement searches are things that happen within a few days of the crime,” he said. “You don’t need to be keeping this gigantic database on everybody’s movements.” FLOCK SURVEILLANCE SPREADS ACROSS THE SOUTH AS RED STATE LAWMAKERS SEEK TO AX ‘1984’-STYLE TRACKING TOOLS Hawley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, launched the investigation Wednesday in a letter to Flock CEO Garrett Langley. The Missouri Republican said Flock’s camera network goes far beyond the discrete, local investigations for which law enforcement surveillance tools are traditionally used. LICENSE PLATE CAMERAS AT HOME DEPOT AND LOWE’S SPARK PRIVACY FEARS “Instead of serving discrete local investigations, as contemplated by our constitutional processes and safeguards, these camera networks harness artificial intelligence to pool what they capture into a national database that customers can search,” Hawley wrote. Flock’s automated license plate reader cameras capture passing vehicles and can log details, including a vehicle’s license plate, description, location and time. The Atlanta-based company markets its technology to law enforcement agencies, businesses and homeowners associations. ‘DARTH VADER’ USES DARK SIDE TO MOCK CONTROVERSIAL SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS: ‘THE EMPEROR IS A FAN OF FLOCK’ In a statement to Fox News Digital, Flock Safety spokesperson Paris Lewbel said the company had received Hawley’s letter and would respond directly to the subcommittee’s questions. “We look forward to working with Senator Hawley and the Subcommittee to provide additional context about how our technology works, the safeguards built into our platform and how law enforcement agencies use Flock to solve crime and find missing people,” Lewbel said. Hawley said law enforcement needs tools to catch offenders and keep communities safe but argued Americans should not have to surrender their privacy while carrying out everyday routines. DAVID MARCUS: CHINA TRIP A GLIMPSE INTO THE SURVEILLANCE STATE AMERICA MUST NEVER BECOME “Americans do not surrender their privacy rights when they drive to work, drop their kids off at school, or go to church,” Hawley wrote. “The Supreme Court has recognized that a comprehensive, retrospective record of a person’s movements is different in kind from ordinary observation in public.” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, echoed Hawley’s concerns in a post Wednesday on X, arguing the Fourth Amendment “is not up for ‘compromise.’” “Our Founders did not risk their lives so a CEO could trade our rights for profit and perceived ‘safety,’” Self wrote, invoking Benjamin Franklin’s warning against giving up essential liberty for temporary safety. Axios first reported Hawley’s investigation. Frommer said Flock’s position that agencies control their own data-sharing settings does not resolve the privacy issue when those agencies can be connected to far broader networks than they realize. “The fact that they technically control the data is a false promise when reality has shown that these things are often spread much further than agencies expected,” he said. The scrutiny comes as a growing number of cities and counties reconsider their relationships with Flock, citing concerns over data sharing, privacy and the potential for misuse. On Tuesday, the Pflugerville City Council voted unanimously to end the Texas city’s agreement with Flock. City staff will turn off all 28 automated license plate reader cameras covered by the contract and disable access to the system, according to the city. “Public safety and public trust have to go hand in hand, and recent revelations about the Flock system have fueled concerns throughout the community; we can’t engage with organizations we can’t trust,” Pflugerville Mayor Doug Weiss said in a statement. Pflugerville police had used Flock cameras since 2020. The city had considered a new two-year agreement that included updated privacy, security and data policies, but officials said they lost confidence in the company’s ability to meet the city’s standards. FOREIGN ENEMIES HAVE A SHOCKINGLY SIMPLE WAY TO TRACK US TROOPS OVERSEAS, LAWMAKERS WARN “ALPR technology is a valuable investigative tool, and we have seen firsthand its ability to help protect our community during critical incidents,” Pflugerville Police Chief Willie Richards said. “But as useful as this tool is, we must have confidence that the safeguards and settings we put in place function exactly as intended. Unfortunately, we’ve lost confidence in the current system and the vendor’s ability to meet our data and privacy standards.” Lewbel said Flock respects Pflugerville’s decision and said the city had participated in Texas’ statewide sharing network, which she described as distinct from one-to-one sharing between agencies. “Statewide sharing allows participating Texas agencies to search across the network using a full license plate,” Lewbel said. “Agencies control their sharing settings and can change or revoke them at any time.” Lewbel