Trial begins for man with Luigi Mangione fixation charged with beginning Palisades Fireplace

The federal trial of Jonathan Rinderknecht, the 30-year-old man accused of starting a wildfire in the mountains near Los Angeles that later restarted and grew into the devastating Palisades Fire, began on Wednesday, with prosecutors saying the man “maliciously” started the initial blaze on New Year’s Day. 

Rinderknecht has been hit with federal charges that include destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire. He pleaded not guilty in October and faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted. 

During opening statements, Federal prosecutor Matthew O’Brien said that Rinderknecht had been angry about not getting a New Year’s Eve invite and spent a portion of the night driving for Uber. He said that after completing a drop off near a home that Rinderknecht had once shared with an ex-boyfriend, he climbed a hiking trail into the Santa Monica Mountains to a “emotional” location for him, Skull Rock, per NBC News. 

Just after midnight on January 1, 2025, a small fire started there, the Lachman Fire, which had not been fully extinguished and continued to smolder underground before restarting a week later, becoming the Palisades Fire. 

Steve Haney, who is representing Rinderknecht, said his client believes he is being used as a scapegoat for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s failure to fully extinguish the New Year’s Day blaze. An after-action report indicated that firefighters failed to monitor the initial blaze, believing it to be extinguished, despite the red-flag warning for the area. Haney said, “After this trial, there will be one thing missing — proof that Jonathan Rinderknecht started these fires.”

Prosecutors said that Rinderknecht intentionally started the Lachman Fire using a green lighter found in his glove compartment, while the defense claimed that Rinderknecht had seen a fire and called 911. Both sides noted that Rinderknecht called 911 at least 16 times. After playing the 911 recordings in court, Rinderknecht said, “That’s the voice of a man who’s trying to stop a fire.” 

The prosecution noted that witnesses had reported Rinderknecht driving erratically on his under routes that night, with a pre-trial memo describing Rinderknecht as “angry, intense, driving erratically, and ranting about being ‘pissed off at the world.'” Haney denied the claims, saying that he would be introducing witnesses during the trial who could attest that Rinderknecht’s behavior was normal. 

“There was nothing concerning about Jonathan,” Haney said. “Because he used to live there, he hiked up the trailhead to watch the fireworks. He parked his car right there, in plain view. He wasn’t trying to hide it.” Prosecutors said that Rinderknecht set the initial fire because he “wanted revenge against society.”

Officials have said that Rinderknecht had an obsession with fire and appeared fixated on Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. In a January 2025 interview with investigators, Rinderknecht was reportedly asked why someone might commit arson in the Palisades. He responded that it could be done “out of resentment of the rich enjoying their money as ‘we’re basically being enslaved by them.” 

Investigators also allege Rinderknecht searched online for phrases related to Mangione in the weeks before the Lachman Fire, including “free Luigi Mangione,” “let’s take down all the billionaires,” and “reddit lets kill all the billionaires,” weeks before the Lachman Fire.