The man accused of starting one of the most devastating fires in the history of Los Angeles ranted against capitalism and the wealthy, and when asked why someone might torch the Pacific Palisades, compared such an act to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, prosecutors said.
In a pretrial memorandum filed April 29 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, prosecutors said Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was described by his Uber passengers as “angry, intense, driving erratically” on New Year’s Eve 2024, hours before, prosecutors allege, he ignited a fire that smoldered underground and ultimately spread to 37 square miles.
The blaze killed 12 people and was part of a series of fires that caused tens of billions of dollars in damage.
Mr. Rinderknecht’s passengers said he ranted about “being pissed off at the world” and about Luigi Mangione, capitalism and vigilantism on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Internet searches uncovered by investigators showed he was fixated on Mr. Mangione, who faces state murder charges in the December 2024 killing of Thompson and who has drawn support from people angry at the American health insurance industry.
When investigators asked Mr. Rinderknecht why someone might set the Pacific Palisades neighborhood ablaze, he responded that it would be out of resentment of the rich enjoying their money as “we’re basically being enslaved by them,” and compared such an act of “desperation” to the murder for which Mr. Mangione was charged.
Mr. Rinderknecht pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Steven Haney, said prosecutors had no evidence tying Mr. Rinderknecht to the massive fire and that the case has been politicized. Much about the case has been misreported by the media, he added.
Investigators said Mr. Rinderknecht “exhibited extreme anger, indignation, and frustration” over a relationship that had ended and that he had tried unsuccessfully to rekindle. He was upset about being alone on New Year’s Eve, prosecutors said, when he hiked up a trail in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood where he had once happily lived with his former romantic partner.
He lit a fire and watched it grow, prosecutors said, and then called 911 several times but could not get through because of poor cellphone reception, then fled the area.
Mr. Rinderknecht’s trial is set to begin June 8. A grand jury indicted him in October on 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. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 45 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Mr. Rinderknecht was living alone in a North Hollywood apartment and working as an Uber driver in December 2024.
They said he had become increasingly angry with his life and appeared to blame society for his problems.
On Dec. 12 and 13, 2024, prosecutors said, he scoured the internet for news related to Mr. Mangione using the search terms “free Luigi Mangione,” “lets take down all the billionaires” and “reddit lets kill all the billionaires.”
On Jan. 3, 2025, two days after the New Year’s Day fire, he took a screenshot of a news story about Mr. Mangione’s December plea of not guilty.
Authorities said firefighters extinguished the Jan. 1 fire, but it continued to smolder underground before high winds spread it aboveground six days later, igniting a massive, destructive blaze.
The fire destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, among them mansions owned by Hollywood stars.
Mr. Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty. Mr. Haney argued that the blaze that burned down the Pacific Palisades started one week after the Jan. 1 fire. Emerging evidence from lawsuits, Mr. Haney said in March, shows the fire department abandoned the blaze before it was fully extinguished.
“My client NEVER admitted to setting the January 1st Lachman Fire, which was an 8 acre brush fire, and was miles away from the Palisades when the January 7th Palisades fire ignited,” Mr. Haney said. “The Central District of California and Bill Essayli have resorted to politicizing this case with rhetoric because they have no evidence my client committed a crime. There is no substantive evidence at all that my client started this fire, so they are left with outlandish and downright silly conspiracy theories. His office has a track record of such prosecutions.”
