The man who federal prosecutors say was “pissed off at the world” before allegedly igniting the Palisades Fire goes on trial this week in Los Angeles, roughly a year and a half after the deadly and historically destructive blaze claimed the lives of a dozen people and scorched thousands of homes and businesses.
Jonathan Rinderknecht had an “obsession with fire, fire-setting behavior, and a motive for starting the fire,” which began as the Lachman Fire on January 1, 2025, according to the trial memorandum. That blaze continued to smolder underground and, prosecutors allege, resurfaced on January 7 and exploded into the Palisades Fire.
Shortly after Rinderknecht was arrested in October 2025, authorities painted a picture of a man singularly focused on a city going up in flames, saying the suspect repeatedly watched a rap video that included “objects being lit on fire” in the days before allegedly setting the blaze.
This undated photo provided by the US Attorney's Office shows Jonathan Rinderknecht, the suspect in the Palisades Fire. (US Attorney's Office/AP
Prosecutors accused Rinderknecht of using ChatGPT to create “dystopian” images showing crowds fleeing from flames, but the judge ruled those images cannot be used at trial. Prosecutors also said he was “fixated” on Luigi Mangione, who is charged with shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, roughly a month before the Palisades disaster.
