Federal authorities announced Oct. 8 the arrest of a 29-year-old Florida man accused of deliberately starting a small brush fire that grew into January’s deadly Palisades blaze in California.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, also known as “Jonathan Rinder,” was arrested Oct. 7 at his home in Melbourne, Florida, and is expected to appear in federal court in Orlando before being transferred to California to face arson charges, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement.
Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in the statement that if Rinderknecht is convicted, he may face up to 20 years in prison. The mandatory minimum sentence for destruction of property by means of fire is five years.
“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,” Essayli said in the 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.”
Prosecutors allege Rinderknecht “maliciously damaged and destroyed, by means of fire,” property, according to a criminal complaint cited by FOX News.
According to FOX, the Palisades Fire killed 12 people and burned more than 6,000 buildings in the Pacific Palisades and parts of Malibu. Although firefighters initially contained the fire, it smoldered underground for nearly a week until strong winds on Jan. 7 reignited it, Essayli said.
The eight-month investigation uncovered more than 13,000 items of evidence, including fire debris, DNA samples, and cell phone data, officials said during a press conference announcing the arrest.
According to the DOJ, Rinderknecht, an Uber driver who once lived in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, allegedly set the fire shortly after dropping off a passenger in the area around midnight on New Year’s Day. Passengers he had driven earlier that night later told investigators he appeared “agitated and angry” that evening.
He then drove to a nearby hiking trail — allegedly to start the fire — and listened to a rap song by French artist Josman, whose music video depicts arson scenes, the DOJ said.
The complaint states that Reinderknecht later called 911 to report the fire himself and returned to the scene to film the blaze and firefighting efforts.
“While the Lachman fire burned, the defendant walked up the same trail from earlier that night to watch the fire and firefights, using his iPhone to take short videos of the scene,” Essayli said. “Although firefights suppressed the blaze, the fire continued to smolder and burn underground within the root structure of the dense vegetation.”
Court papers also alleged Rinderknecht had watched the same music video repeatedly in the days before the fire and, months earlier in July 2024, used ChatGPT to generate a “dystopian” image depicting a burning city.
The ChatGPT prompt, according to the complaint, read: “A dystopian painting divided into distinct parts that blend together seamlessly. On the far left, there is a burning forest. Next to it, a crowd of people is running away from the fire, leading to the middle.”
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