Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire in a home along the Pacific Coast Highway in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. An arrest was made in connection to the fire, federal officials announced on Oct. 8, 2025.

LOS ANGELES – Federal authorities announced that an arrest was made in connection with the fatal Palisades Fire that ravaged the tony Pacific Palisades neighborhood in northwest Los Angeles in January.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is accused of starting a fire in the early hours of Jan. 1 that would later spiral into the multi-week blaze that burned over 23,000 acres, destroyed nearly 7,000 structures, and is attributed to 12 deaths, according to court documents.

A probable cause statement in the criminal complaint, filed in the federal court in Los Angeles on Oct. 2, alleges that Rinderknecht was once a resident of the Palisades and knew the area well. He later moved to Melbourne, Florida, where he was arrested, authorities said at the press conference announcing the charges.

Rinderknecht made an initial appearance in federal court in Orlando on Oct. 8, according to court records. USA TODAY reached out to the office of Rinderknecht’s listed attorney and did not receive an immediate response.

Rinderknecht previously lived in the Palisades: affidavit

The probable cause affidavit alleges that Rinderknecht drove for Uber the night of Dec. 31. Two of Rinderknecht’s passengers from that night told investigators that he was “agitated and angry,” according to the document.

The document alleges that Rinderknecht, also known as “Jonathan Rinder” and “Jon Rinder,” dropped off his last passenger at 11:34. He then walked up a trailhead onto a hilltop and at about 12:12 a.m. on Jan. 1 ignited the Lachman Fire, which would smolder and become the Palisades Fire.

The affidavit states that Rinderknecht had lived in a house roughly one block away from the trailhead and that he allegedly told investigators that he had hiked the trail “many times.”

Rinderknecht allegedly listened to a French rap song with a music video that depicts setting things on fire multiple times. The affidavit states that he told investigators that he grew up in France and is fluent in the language. Investigators found an AI-generated image of a city burning on what is alleged to be one of the suspect’s devices, according to the document.

After setting the fire, he contacted 911 to report it before leaving the scene, but later turned around and went back to the trail, where he took videos and photos of the fire and firefighters battling it – according to the charging document.

While on the phone with 911, the suspect also used the ChatGPT AI platform to ask the following question, according to the criminal complaint: “Are you at fault if a fire is lift [sic] because of your cigarettes.”

The search and the calls to 911 were screen-recorded using his phone, indicating he “wanted to preserve evidence of himself trying to assist in the suppression of the fire and he wanted to create evidence regarding a more innocent explanation for the cause of the fire,” the complaint said.

Acting District Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said that he had no prior criminal history at the press conference.

Palisades Fire arrest, charges

Rinderknecht was known to law enforcement and had been questioned by Jan. 24. He was arrested Oct. 7 near his Florida home, Acting District Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said at the press conference.

Rinderknecht faces one count of destruction of property by means of fire – a federal charge. If convicted, he could face a sentence of between five and 20 years in federal prison.

Court documents show that a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 17.

Essayli said the case will go before a grand jury, and prosecutors could seek additional charges.

Contributing: USA TODAY’s Jeanine Santucci, Terry Collins

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What we know about Jonathan Rinderknecht, man arrested in connection to LA fire

Reporting by James Powel, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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