The man accused of sparking the deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles was upset that he didn’t have plans for New Year’s Eve and ranted about being angry at the world before the initial blaze was sparked, according to court documents filed by prosecutors.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. It began Jan. 7, 2025, in hillside neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades and Malibu and killed 12 people. Prosecutors say Rinderknecht started a fire on Jan. 1 that burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up a week later.
Rinderknecht’s trial is set to begin June 8. His attorneys say he is being used as a scapegoat for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s failure to fully extinguish the earlier blaze.
An outline of the prosecutors’ strategy — with details about the defendant’s alleged state of mind on the night before the first fire began — appears in an April 29 pretrial memo filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Witnesses reported that Rinderknecht had been driving erratically while on Uber routes around the Palisades on New Year’s Eve, said prosecutors. His passengers described him as “angry, intense, driving erratically, and ranting about being ‘pissed off at the world,’” the memo said.
According to court filings, Rinderknecht ranted to passengers about accused UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione, capitalism and vigilantism. In an interview with investigators on Jan. 24, when asked why someone might commit arson in the Palisades, Rinderknecht “responded that it would be out of resentment of the rich enjoying their money as ‘we’re basically being enslaved by them,’” and again referenced Mangione’s alleged crime, the documents said.
In addition, prosecutors said Rinderknecht was distraught over a failed relationship and upset about thwarted plans for New Year’s Eve.
“My client maintains his innocence as he has from the beginning and we look forward to clearing his name at trial,” Rinderknecht’s attorney Steve Haney said in an email Sunday. “The offered motive that my client started a fire on NYs Eve because he did not have a date speaks for itself.”
Haney held a news conference in March to call for Rinderknecht’s release from jail in light of evidence he said shows he is not responsible for the blaze. Haney pointed to a deposition in which a firefighter testified that he noticed the ground was still smoldering from the fire on Jan. 2 and alerted a supervisor that there were hot spots. That testimony was gathered as part of a lawsuit filed by fire victims against the city.
A battalion chief had testified that he walked the perimeter of the burn area four times throughout the day and ensured all hot spots were out.
Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore, who was appointed in October, has said he is concerned about the differences in the firefighters’ testimonies and commissioned an independent report on how the Jan. 1 fire was handled.
Haney has said this evidence was not available to the defense when Rinderknecht was indicted.
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