LOS ANGELES — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - California, Central), published as received.

LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury today 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.

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 October 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 January 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 January 1 on land owned by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), an organization that received federal funding. A week later, the same fire – then known as the Palisades Fire – burned federal property.

On the evening of December 31, 2024, Rinderknecht was working as an Uber driver. Two passengers that 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.

After dropping off a passenger in Pacific Palisades, Rinderknecht – who once lived in that neighborhood – drove towards Skull Rock Trailhead, parked his car, attempted to contact a former friend, and walked up the trail. 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 January 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. When he finally connected with 911, he was at the bottom of the hiking trail and reported the fire. 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. He then turned around and followed the fire engines to the scene, driving at a high rate of speed. 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.

During an interview with law enforcement on January 24, 2025, Rinderknecht lied about where he was when he first saw the Lachman Fire. 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.

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.

If you are a victim of the Palisades Fire, updates about this criminal case can be found on this website:

 https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/united-states-v-jonathan-rinderknecht