Federal authorities have arrested a Florida man for allegedly “intentionally and maliciously” starting the Pacific Palisades fire — one of the worst wildfires Southern California has seen in recent history — killing 12 people, scorching more than 23,000 acres, and causing more than $15o million in damages.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 29-year-old Uber driver, allegedly set the Lachman fire on January 1, which eventually erupted into the Palisades fire, authorities said during a press conference on Wednesday. While authorities believed they had suppressed the Lachman fire, it continued to smolder underground in what is known as a “holdover fire,” and ultimately turned into the devastating Palisades fire.
Rinderknecht is charged with three felony counts and, if convicted, is facing a minimum five-year prison sentence with the possibility of serving up to 20 years. Authorities may file additional charges against Rinderknecht in the future, acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. The case will face a grand jury.
“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. “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.”
Authorities say the allegations are supported by digital evidence, which includes the defendant’s ChatGPT search history. It was discovered that he had prompted the artificial intelligence website to create images of a burning dystopian city.
Rinderknecht, although from Florida, was at one point a resident of the Palisades, and was familiar with the neighborhood where he allegedly set the fire.
He parked his car after completing Uber trips, walked up a trail, and took iPhone videos of the area. Rinderknecht then listened to a rap song with a video that included images of objects being lit on fire. Authorities said only that the fire was ignited by an open flame and that Rinderknecht attempted to call 911 multiple times after starting the fire.
“This arrest, we hope, will provide a measure of justice to all of those who were affected,” Essayli said during the press conference.
Rinderknecht reportedly had no criminal history, but authorities did say he made false statements during the investigation. While they are not speaking to motive at this time, they said evidence will prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the fire was lit both intentionally and maliciously.
“I wish we could get into someone’s head,” said Kenny Cooper, special agent in charge with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in the Los Angeles Field Division. “We have evidence that will address that in trial. Evil people do evil things.”
Before Wednesday’s press conference, speculation was that climate change was the root cause of the widespread fire. Reports previously claimed shifts in weather caused the fire.