Man accused of starting Palisades fire was ‘angry, intense, driving erratically’, lawyers say

The man accused of sparking the deadly Palisades fire in Los Angeles was upset over a failed relationship and his lack of plans for New Year’s Eve – and he ranted about being angry at the world before the initial blaze was ignited, according to court documents filed by prosecutors.Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. It began on 7 January 2025 in the hillside neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades and Malibu and killed 12 people. Prosecutors say Rinderknecht started a fire on 1 January that burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up a week later.Rinderknecht’s trial will begin on 8 June. His attorneys say he is being used as a scapegoat for the Los Angeles fire department’s failure to fully extinguish the earlier blaze.An outline of the prosecutors’ strategy – with details about the defendant’s alleged state of mind on the night before the first fire began – appears in a 29 April pre-trial memo filed by the US attorney’s office.Witnesses reported that Rinderknecht had been driving erratically while on Uber routes around the Palisades on New Year’s Eve, said prosecutors. His passengers described him as “angry, intense, driving erratically, and ranting about being ‘pissed off at the world,’” the memo said, echoing a criminal complaint against Rinderknecht that had previously been filed.According to court filings, Rinderknecht ranted to passengers about Luigi Mangione, the accused murderer of UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson; capitalism; and vigilantism. In an interview with investigators on 24 January, when asked why someone might commit arson in the Palisades, Rinderknecht “responded that it would be out of resentment of the rich enjoying their money as ‘we’re basically being enslaved by them,’” and again referenced Mangione’s alleged crime, the documents said.Prosecutors additionally said Rinderknecht was distraught over a failed relationship and upset about thwarted plans for New Year’s Eve.In an email responding to those allegations, Rinderknecht’s attorney Steve Haney said: “My client maintains his innocence as he has from the beginning, and we look forward to clearing his name at trial.“The offered motive that my client started a fire on [New Year’s] Eve because he did not have date speaks for itself.”Haney held a news conference in March to call for Rinderknecht’s release from jail in light of evidence he said shows he is not responsible for the blaze. Haney pointed to a deposition in which a firefighter testified that he noticed the ground was still smoldering from the fire on 2 January 2025 and alerted supervisors that there were hotspots. That testimony was gathered as part of a lawsuit filed by fire victims against the city.A battalion chief had testified that he walked the perimeter of the burn area four times throughout the day and ensured all hotspots were out.Jaime Moore, the fire department chief who was appointed in October, has said he is concerned about the differences in the firefighters’ testimonies and commissioned an independent report on how the 1 January 2025 fire was handled.Haney has said this evidence was not available to the defense when Rinderknecht was indicted.