The man accused of deliberately setting the blaze that grew into one of the most devastating wildfires in Los Angeles history, killing 12 people and incinerating thousands of homes, pleaded not guilty on Thursday (October 24, 2025) to three federal arson-related charges.
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Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is charged with "maliciously" starting a fire on January 1 that was quickly suppressed but continued to smoulder beneath dense vegetation near Pacific Palisades before reigniting a week later amid fierce winds.
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At an arraignment on Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Rozella Oliver in federal court in Los Angeles, he pleaded not guilty to three felony counts in a grand jury indictment returned on October 15 — arson, destruction of property by means of fire, and illegally setting timber afire.
