LOS ANGELES (TNND) — Authorities said they arrested a 29-year-old man in connection with a fire that killed 12 people and ravaged a Los Angeles neighborhood in January.

Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli identified the suspect as 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht, an Uber driver.

The complaint alleges that Rinderknecht’s started a fire in Pacific Palisades on New Year’s Day — a blaze that eventually turned into one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history, causing death and widespread destruction,” Essayli said during a news conference on Wednesday, as well as noted on X.

We will prove that he intentionally started this fire — and maliciously,” Essayli added.

Essayli said Rinderknecht was charged with destruction of property by means of fire, a felony that carries a mandatory minimum 5-year prison sentence.

Rinderknecht, who is also known as Jonathan Rinder and Jon Rinder, was arrested near his home in Florida on Tuesday and is expected to make a court appearance on Wednesday afternoon, according to Essayli.

Essayli said the fire killed a dozen people, as well as destroyed 68,000 structures, including homes and businesses, and damaged at least 1,000 other buildings.

Essayli said the fire was intentionally set. He said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives determined the fire was ignited with an open flame shortly after midnight on Jan. 1, 2025.

Investigators excluded other possibilities, including fireworks, lightning and power lines. Authorities also looked into whether a cigarette could’ve caused the fire, but concluded that was not the cause, the complaint noted.

Essayli said Rinderknecht allegedly started the fire after dropping off passengers as part of his job as an Uber driver.

Two of his passengers told law enforcement he appeared agitated and angry that night,” Essayli said. “After dropping off a passenger in Pacific Palisades, Rinderknecht parked his car and tried and failed to contact a former friend. He exited the car, walked up a nearby trail, took iPhone videos at a nearby hilltop, and listened to a rap song, whose music video included objects being lit on fire.”

Essayli said Rinderknecht listened to the song — which he described as a French rap song — repeatedly in the days leading up to the fire.

After Rinderknecht allegedly lit the fire, Essayli said, he called 911 and started to drive away, but turned around after he saw authorities responded to the scene, where he took multiple videos of the fire.

“Although firefighters suppressed the blaze, the fire continued to smolder and burn underground, within the root structure of the dense vegetation,” Essayli said, adding that it burned underground for about a week until heavy winds caused flames to surface and spread above ground on January 7.

In late January, authorities spoke to Rinderknecht, who “provided false statements” during the investigation. He told them he had been in the area on Jan. 1 and did not see anyone else in the area at that time, according to Essayli.

“Among the evidence that was collected from his digital devices was an image he generated on ChatGPT depicting a burning city,” Essayli said.

Essayli shared the image, which was created a few months before the fire, depicts a “dystopian painting.” It shows a burning forest, as well as people running from a massive blaze.

“While we cannot undo the damage and destruction that was done, we hope his arrest and the charges against him bring some measure of justice to the victims of this horrific tragedy,” Essayli said.

Investigators still haven’t determined the cause of a second blaze called the Eaton Fire, which broke out the same day in the community of Altadena and killed 18 people.

Both fires burned for days, reducing block after block of entire neighborhoods to gray and black debris.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.