The man accused of starting a small fire on New Year’s Day that later rekindled and grew into the destructive Palisades fire in Los Angeles pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges in connection to the blaze.
The suspect, Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was arrested on Oct. 7 and charged with “maliciously” starting a fire that damaged and destroyed federal property. A federal grand jury has also indicted him on one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and one count of timber set afire.
Appearing in federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday in a white jumpsuit with a chain around his waist, Mr. Rinderknecht stood calmly beside his lawyer, before Magistrate Judge Rozella A. Oliver.
It was Mr. Rinderknecht’s first court appearance in California. He was initially charged in Florida, where he was living at the time of his arrest.
Before Mr. Rinderknecht was arraigned, he asked, “Can I actually say something about detainment?” But he was quickly cut off by his lawyer, Steven Haney, and the two briefly stepped out of the courtroom.
When they returned, Mr. Rinderknecht was asked how he would plead to the charges, to which he said, “Not guilty.”
The judge decided that Mr. Rinderknecht would remain in federal custody for now. It was not immediately clear where he was being held.
A jury trial for Mr. Rinderknecht is scheduled to begin on Dec. 16 before U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang in Los Angeles. Prosecutors told Judge Oliver that they estimate the trial will take seven to 10 days.
If convicted, Mr. Rinderknecht would face up to 45 years in prison.
In a statement after the arraignment, Mr. Haney said, “We maintain the innocence of Jonathan in any role associated with the charges in this case.”
Prosecutors have said that Mr. Rinderknecht was obsessed with fire, using ChatGPT to generate fire-related imagery. They also said he listened repeatedly to a song about setting fires, including just before setting the blaze.
The Palisades fire grew to burn more than 23,000 acres, and it destroyed thousands of homes. Twelve people died in the blaze, which was the third-most destructive fire in California history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Palisades fire burned as Southern California was facing other fires fueled by strong winds. On the other side of Los Angeles County, in and around Altadena, the Eaton fire grew to burn more than 14,000 acres and killed 19 people.
Law enforcement officials have said that the Palisades fire was a so-called holdover fire, a continuation of a fire that began in the area on Jan. 1. Initially, residents and local officials had speculated that fireworks set off in the area might have been the cause of the that fire.
According to prosecutors and court documents, Mr. Rinderknecht was working as an Uber driver on the night of Dec. 31. Two passengers driven by Mr. Rinderknecht on separate trips that night told law enforcement officials that they recalled that Mr. Rinderknecht had seemed “agitated and angry.”
Later that night, Mr. Rinderknecht parked his car and walked up a trail to a hilltop area, according to prosecutors. They said that shortly after midnight, Mr. Rinderknecht deliberately started a fire in the brush, which environmental sensing tools detected. Around that time, Mr. Rinderknecht called 911 multiple times, but the calls did not go through because his phone was out of service range, according to prosecutors.
When Mr. Rinderknecht finally reached a 911 operator, prosecutors said, he was at the bottom of the trail and reported a fire. He left the area in his car, but returned as firefighters responded.
Jesus Jiménez is a Times reporter covering Southern California.
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