Man accused of starting deadly Palisades fire to be retried for arson after mistrial
Summary
Jonathan Rinderknecht is facing a federal retrial on arson charges over the January 2025 Palisades fire, after his first trial ended with a hung jury. Prosecutors say he started an earlier brush fire whose embers later reignited; Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty, and jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in Los Angeles.Key Facts
- The Palisades fire killed 12 people and damaged thousands of buildings.
- Prosecutors allege Rinderknecht started the 8-acre Lachman fire on December 31, 2024.
- Firefighters extinguished the Lachman fire on January 2, 2025, but embers reportedly smoldered underground before the Palisades fire erupted.
- Rinderknecht faces charges including arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and has pleaded not guilty.
- In the first trial, two jurors voted to convict and 10 voted not guilty, resulting in a hung jury.
- A judge tentatively agreed to prosecutors’ request that jurors not consider whether firefighters adequately suppressed the Lachman fire.
- The defense unsuccessfully sought to keep jurors from hearing descriptions of apocalyptic images Rinderknecht generated with ChatGPT.
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