Prosecutors say man deliberately started blaze that became one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history. Published On 10 Jun 202610 Jun 2026Federal prosecutors in the United States have accused 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht of deliberately starting the Palisades Fire, which grew into one of the most destructive in the history of Los Angeles, California.Opening statements were presented on Wednesday in Rinderknecht’s federal trial, where he stands accused of destroying property by means of fire, committing arson affecting interstate commerce, and lighting timber aflame.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listRinderknecht has pleaded not guilty to starting the fire in January 2025.While prosecutors portrayed him as an arsonist who premeditated his crime, defence lawyers argued there was no proof that he had ignited the blazes. If anything, they said, Rinderknecht had tried to stop them.“When all the evidence is in, there will be one thing missing: proof that Jonathan Rinderknecht started that fire on January 1,” lawyer Steve Haney told jurors.The Palisades Fire ultimately killed 12 people and left swaths of the coastline north of Los Angeles unrecognisable after sweeping through communities such as the Pacific Palisades. Jonathan Rinderknecht has denied responsibility for the 2025 Palisades Fire in California [File: US Attorney’s Office via AP]If convicted, Rinderknecht would face at least five years in prison, with a maximum sentence of 45 years.Prosecutors say that the Palisades Fire began on January 1, 2025, smouldering in root systems before flaring into a significant conflagration on January 7.They argue that evidence places Rinderknecht on the hilltop where the fire allegedly started. Advertisement “The evidence will show that the defendant lit this fire on January 1 and that he did so on purpose,” Assistant US Attorney Mark Williams told jurors in a court in downtown Los Angeles.“And the evidence will show that the fire that the defendant started on January 1 was the same fire that caused all of that destruction on January 7.”Rinderknecht allegedly called emergency services 16 times on January 1, and his cellular data places him near the hilltop where the fire occurred, according to prosecutors.They also point to a prompt Rinderknecht entered into ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence model, in the months leading up to the fire. It described a “burning forest” and “people running away”.“He wanted revenge – revenge ag …
