Jonathan Rinderknecht charged with LA Pacific Palisades fire setting

Federal authorities announced Wednesday that they have arrested and charged a Florida man with maliciously starting the deadly Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive blazes in Los Angeles history.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is charged with destruction of property by means of fire, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, which is prosecuting him.

Right after allegedly igniting the conflagration early New Year’s Day, Rinderknecht “listened to a rap song, which has a music video that includes things being lit on fire,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

“Rinderknecht listened to the song repeatedly in the prior days,” the office said.

Rinderknecht, who previously lived in Pacific Palisades, California, was arrested on Tuesday in Florida.

The Melbourne resident is expected to appear in federal court in Orlando, Florida, later Wednesday.

The Palisades Fire in early January burned thousands of homes and killed 12 people as flames spread rapidly in heavy winds up to 100 miles per hour.

If Rinderknecht is convicted, he could face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years.

Authorities said that witness statements, video surveillance, cellphone data, and analysis of fire dynamics and patterns at the scene showed that Rinderknecht maliciously set the Lachman Fire just after midnight on January 1 on land owned by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, an organization that received federal funding.

A week later, the same fire – which by then had become known as the Palisades Fire – burned federal property.

“The complaint alleges that a single person’s recklessness caused one of the worst fires Los Angeles has ever seen, resulting in death and widespread destruction in Pacific Palisades,” Acting L.A. U.S Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement.

“While we cannot bring back what victims lost, we hope this criminal case brings some measure of justice to those affected by this horrific tragedy,” Essayli said.

In a post on X, Essayli said evidence was found from Rinderknecht’s digital devices that showed “an image he generated on ChatGPT depicting a burning city.”

The destructive fire started on the evening of Dec. 31, when Rinderknecht had been working a shift as an Uber driver.

According to the release, two passengers he drove in separate rides later told law enforcement that they recalled Rinderknecht as “agitated and angry.”

After Rinderknecht dropped off a passenger in the area, he drove to Skulls Rock trailhead, where he parked his car and tried to get in touch with a former friend, authorities said. He then walked up the trail and used his iPhone to take videos.

Shortly after midnight on Jan. 1, environmental sensing platforms indicated the Lachman Fire had started. In the following minutes, Rinderknecht called 911 several times, but since he was out of cellphone range was unable to get through, according to the release.

By the time he connected with 911 and reported the fired, he had arrived at the end of the hiking trail, the release said. A resident had already reported the fire at that point.

“Rinderknecht then fled in his car, passing fire engines driving in the opposite direction,” the release said.

Authorities said he then turned around and sped up to follow the fire engines to the scene, where he recorded more videos of the scene from his phone.

Law enforcement interviewed Rinderknecht on Jan. 24.

He allegedly lied about where he had been when he first saw the Lachman Fire, claiming “he was near the bottom of a hiking trail when he first saw the fire and called 911.”

“But geolocation data from his iPhone carrier showed that he was standing in a clearing 30 feet from the fire as it rapidly grew,” according to the news release.