Grand jury indicts Palisades Fire suspect

News release

A federal grand jury has indicted a former resident of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles who is charged with starting in January 2025 what eventually became the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, adding two felonies to his criminal case, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. 

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, a.k.a. “Jonathan Rinder,” and “Jon Rinder,” is charged in the three-count indictment with one count of destruction of property by means of fire, one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, and one count of timber set afire. 

Rinderknecht has been in federal custody since his arrest on Oct. 7. His next court appearance will be his arraignment, which is expected to occur in the coming weeks in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. 

According to court documents, law enforcement determined that the Palisades Fire was a “holdover” fire – a continuation of the Lachman Fire that began early in the morning on New Year’s Day 2025. Although firefighters quickly suppressed the Lachman Fire, the fire continued to smolder and burn underground within the root structure of dense vegetation. 

On Jan. 7, heavy winds caused the underground fire to surface and spread above ground in what became known as the Palisades Fire, which caused widespread damage in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. 

Law enforcement determined – using witness statements, video surveillance, cellphone data, and analysis of fire dynamics and patterns at the scene, among other things – that Rinderknecht maliciously set the Lachman Fire just after midnight on Jan. 1 on land owned by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, an organization that received federal funding, according to the DOJ release. A week later, the same fire – then known as the Palisades Fire – burned federal property. 

On the evening of Dec. 31, 2024, Rinderknecht was working as an Uber driver, the release said. Two passengers he drove on separate trips between 10:15 p.m. and 11:15 p.m. that night later told law enforcement they remembered that Rinderknecht appeared agitated and angry, according to the release. 

After dropping off a passenger in Pacific Palisades, Rinderknecht – who once lived in that neighborhood – drove toward Skull Rock Trailhead, parked his car, attempted to contact a former friend, and walked up the trail, the release said, adding that he then used his iPhone to take videos at a nearby hilltop area and listened to a rap song – to which he had listened repeatedly in previous days – whose music video included things being lit on fire. 

At 12:12 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2025, environmental sensing platforms indicated the Lachman Fire had begun. During the next five minutes, Rinderknecht called 911 several times, but didn’t get through because his iPhone was out of cellphone range, the DOJ release said. When he finally connected with 911, he was at the bottom of the hiking trail and reported the fire, according to the release. By that point, a nearby resident already had reported the fire to authorities. 

Rinderknecht then fled in his car, passing fire engines driving in the opposite direction, according to the release. He then turned around and followed the fire engines to the scene, driving at a high rate of speed, the release said, adding that Rinderknecht walked up the same trail from earlier that night to watch the fire and the firefighters. At approximately 1:02 a.m., he used his iPhone to take more videos of the scene, the release said. 

During an interview with law enforcement on Jan. 24, Rinderknecht lied about where he was when he first saw the Lachman Fire, according to the DOJ release. He claimed he was near the bottom of a hiking trail when he first saw the fire and called 911, but geolocation data from his iPhone carrier showed that he was standing in a clearing 30 feet from the fire as it rapidly grew, the release said. 

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.   

If convicted, Rinderknecht would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 45 years in federal prison. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating this matter with substantial assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department and the United States Forest Service. 

Assistant United States Attorneys Mark A. Williams, Matthew W. O’Brien, and Danbee C. Kim of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section, and Assistant United States Attorney Laura A. Alexander of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case. 

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