{"id":287512,"date":"2025-10-08T21:26:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/287512\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T21:26:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:26:14","slug":"deadly-palisades-fire-set-maliciously-by-florida-firebug-jonathan-rinderknecht-feds-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/287512\/","title":{"rendered":"Deadly Palisades Fire set \u2018maliciously\u2019 by Florida firebug Jonathan Rinderknecht, feds say"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 A 29-year-old Biden-supporting Uber driver obsessed with dystopian imagery, \u201cdespair and bitterness\u201d is charged with \u201cmaliciously\u201d sparking the Palisades Fire, authorities said Wednesday \u2014 nine months after the\u00a0most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history<\/a>\u00a0erupted.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is accused of setting a brush fire Jan. 1 that was put out, but then smoldered unnoticed underground for days before\u00a0igniting the raging Palisades inferno<\/a>, which left 12 people dead and caused about $150 billion in damages.<\/p>\n

The Palisades blaze, which was sparked by the Lachman Fire, went on to level more than 6,000 homes and buildings in the wealthy coastal enclave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This undated photo provided by the US Attorney\u2019s Office shows Jonathan Rinderknecht, a suspect in the Palisades Fire. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. AP<\/p>\n

Rinderknecht, who lived in the area at some point, allegedly ignited the flames near a popular hiking trail in the hillside of a state park overlooking the neighborhood at about 12:12 a.m. on New Year\u2019s Day \u2013 just moments after dropping off his Uber passengers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The passengers later recalled Rinderknecht appearing \u201cagitated and angry,\u201d the feds said.<\/p>\n

After arriving at the hiking trail, Rinderknecht allegedly filmed the scene on his phone and listened to the rap song \u201cUn Zder, Un The,\u201d by French artist Josman, whose music video features him setting a series of blazes, the criminal complaint states.<\/p>\n

Google records showed that Rinderknecht, born in France, had\u00a0listened to the song nine times<\/a>\u00a0and watched the music video four times in the days leading up to the fire, according to court papers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A home burns during the Palisades Fire on January 8, 2025. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Burned beachfront homes in Malibu, with debris lining the road and beach in January. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Translated lyrics from the French song include, \u201cDaily life is killing me,\u201d \u201cI feel like I\u2019m nowhere,\u201d and \u201ctoo much bitterness in my head, I think about the mistakes we made.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the 2018 music video, Josman is seen smoking a blunt in his kitchen, which then sparks a blaze throughout the apartment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At another point in the video, Josman is seen lighting a burning barrel outside a housing project, which becomes a huge inferno. The rapper is later captured walking with a handful of blazing banknotes in his hand.<\/p>\n

Acting US Attorney Bill Essayli announcing the arrest of Palisades fire arson suspect Jonathan Rinderknecht alongside LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell (right) and Special Agent in Charge Kenny Cooper of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Los Angeles Field Division on Oct. 8, 2025. Photo by Mario Tama\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Rinderknecht is believed to have watched his fire burn for about a minute before fleeing down the hiking trail, where he made a three-minute video recording of himself attempting to call 911 several times to report the blaze.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As he was on the phone to dispatchers, he typed \u201cAre you at fault if a fire is lift [sic] because of your cigarettes\u201d into ChatGPT \u2013 which was also captured in the screen recording, the complaint charges.<\/p>\n

Rinderknecht allegedly drove away from the scene but turned around to follow the responding fire trucks back to the scene \u2013 where he then watched and recorded several videos as crews battled the inferno, according to the complaint.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The front page of the New York Post on January 9, 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on my training and experience, arsonists sometimes call 911 to report the fires they have set, and arsonists sometimes like to watch firefighters respond to the fires that they have set,\u201d an investigator notes in the charging docs.<\/p>\n

The videos were among a trove of evidence discovered on Rinderknecht\u2019s phone in the aftermath of the wildfire, authorities said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Months before the blaze, in July, Rinderknecht had ChatGPT-generated a grim \u201cdystopian\u201d image of a burning city, according to the criminal complaint.<\/p>\n

Evidence showed an image Rinderknecht generated on ChatGPT depicting a \u201cdystopian\u201d image of a burning city. US Attorney’s Office<\/p>\n

In the ChatGPT prompt, he requested: \u201cA dystopian painting divided into distinct parts that blend together seamlessly. On the far left, there is a burning forest. Next to it, a crowd of people is running away from the fire, leading to the middle,\u201d the complaint said.<\/p>\n

Months later, in November, Rinderknecht told ChatGPT that he had \u201cliterally burnt\u201d a Bible \u2013 boasting that he felt \u201camazing\u201d and \u201cso liberated\u201d afterwards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Palisades Fire erupted around the same time as the\u00a0Eaton Fire<\/a>, which killed 19 people, but authorities haven\u2019t yet disclosed a cause for that inferno.<\/p>\n

Rinderknecht Youtube\/Josman<\/p>\n

Both fires crippled the region for weeks \u2013 reducing entire neighborhoods to ash.<\/p>\n

Rinderknecht was interviewed by investigators shortly after the blaze but allegedly lied to investigators at the time about his location, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

During the Jan. 24 interview, Rinderknecht had told investigators where the fire began, which was information that hadn\u2019t yet been made public and that he wouldn\u2019t have known if he hadn\u2019t witnessed it, the complaint said.<\/p>\n

He allegedly lied about his location, claiming he was near the bottom of the hiking trail at the time, the feds said.<\/p>\n

A helicopter drops water as the Palisades Fire grows on January 11, 2025. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

During the interview, Rinderknecht\u2019s \u201ccarotid artery would pulsate and become visible\u201d whenever he was asked about the fire \u2013 indicating he was \u201cextremely anxious,\u201d the docs state.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The accused arsonist also confessed to bringing a lighter up the trail \u2013 and investigators later found a green BBQ-style lighter in his car\u2019s glove compartment that matched photos taken at his home just days earlier, authorities alleged.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was finally arrested in Florida on Tuesday and will now be transferred back to California to stand trial.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An LA house consumed by the Palisades fire on Jan. 8, 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Records show Rinderknecht was registered to vote in Florida, though he never declared a political party,\u00a0The Post discovered.<\/a><\/p>\n

He did however donate $2 \u2013 a dollar days apart on two separate occasions in September 2020 \u2013\u00a0to Joe Biden\u2019s 2020 presidential campaign<\/a>,\u00a0according to the Federal Election Commission.<\/a><\/p>\n

Rinderknecht\u2019s former Los Angeles neighbors told The Post that the accused firestarter used to live in a third floor apartment in The Villas on Sycamore, just one block north of bustling Hollywood Boulevard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The aftermath of the fire that shows a row of homes destroyed by the massive blaze. Getty Images<\/p>\n

They described him as polite, quiet, and someone who mostly kept to himself \u2013 leaving them stunned upon learning he was accused of causing such massive destruction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWow, that\u2019s crazy,\u201d Peter Cheng, 39, said in disbelief, adding that he used to live across the corridor from Rinderknecht.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was actually a really nice guy. He was really quiet. I didn\u2019t know what he did. He just kept to himself. He didn\u2019t seem like an off kid at all. But sometimes when people are really quiet you have no idea what\u2019s going on in their head.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A neighborhood destroyed by the fire in the Pacific Palisades seen on Jan. 27, 2025. AP<\/p>\n

Cheng noted that Rinderknecht was the only resident in the building with a keypad on their door \u2013 and mentioned that he drove a \u201cnormal four-door car.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new tenant living in the Rinderknecht\u2019s old pad said he moved in back in August and still gets mail addressed to the accused firebug.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rinderknecht, who officials said has no criminal history, faces charges including malicious destruction by means of a fire.<\/p>\n

The finding that the Palisades Fire was intentionally set could allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty.<\/p>\n

Federal arson charges already carry harsh mandatory minimum sentences that range from five to 20 years, but are even stricter if it leads to injury or death.<\/p>\n

A detention hearing is scheduled in US District Court in Orlando, Florida, Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

Additional reporting by David Propper<\/p>\n

With Post wires<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 A 29-year-old Biden-supporting Uber driver obsessed with dystopian imagery, \u201cdespair and bitterness\u201d is charged with…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":287513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[11307,1582,276,2809,2961,117681,224,5337,1154,5609],"class_list":{"0":"post-287512","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-arrests","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-california-wildfires","12":"tag-la","13":"tag-la-fires-2025","14":"tag-los-angeles","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-us-news","17":"tag-wildfires"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115340665435869303","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}