Accused LA wildfire arsonist wanted ‘revenge on society’, prosecutors say as trial opens

The trial of 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht, the man accused of starting last year’s deadly Palisades fire, kicked off on Wednesday with opening arguments. Prosecutors cast him as a vengeful arsonist who sought to hide his role from authorities, while his defense attorneys argued that the fire was caused by fireworks.On New Year’s Day in 2025, firefighters extinguished a small blaze in the Pacific Palisades, a coastal Los Angeles enclave. But the flames continued to smolder underground, before reigniting as they were picked up by strong winds. The Palisades fire, the most destructive wildfires in city history, tore through roughly 23,000 acres, incinerating thousands of buildings and killing 12 people.Rinderknecht, an occasional Uber driver, was the sole person in vicinity of the initial blaze, called the Lachman fire, prosecutors say. Rinderknecht allegedly lit a fire, spurred by anger over a failed relationship and his social isolation on New Year’s Eve. Near that site, prosecutors say Rinderknecht watched a music video for a rap song that depicted objects being set on fire.Assistant US attorney Matt O’Brien told jurors that after firefighters arrived, Rinderknecht followed them up the hill to take videos of them putting out the blaze. Investigators later seized a barbecue lighter from his car that he admitted to having with him on the trail.Rinderknecht is facing three felony arson charges, including malicious destruction by means of a fire. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he could be sentenced to at least five years in prison.O’Brien told jurors that security camera footage shows where and when the fire ignited atop a hill, and that investigators were able to place Rinderknecht nearby because he called 911 for help 16 times in quick succession on the evening of 1 January.Defense attorney Steve Haney said Rinderknecht was on the hilltop near the fire’s ignition that night, but only to watch the fireworks after dropping off Uber passengers nearby. Haney said multiple witnesses and first responders will testify that they heard fireworks in the area about the time the fire ignited.“When all the evidence is in, there will be one thing missing: proof that Jonathan Rinderknecht started that fire on January 1,” Haney told jurors.O’Brien, in his opening, painted a picture for the jury of a troubled young man who was lonely and angry at the world after a recent breakup.“He wanted revenge – revenge against society because he blamed society for all his troubles,” he said.O’Brien also showed jurors a prompt that Rinderknecht had entered into ChatGPT six months earlier. “So on the far left, we’re going to have a burning forest and then you have a bunch of people running away from that,” the prompt began.Haney reminded jurors it did not matter if they liked his client or if they did not “approve of the way Jonathan uses his computer”. He said Rinderknecht’s behavior after the fire, from calling 911 to cooperating with investigators, demonstrated his innocence.Haney played an audio recording of Rinderknecht’s conversation with a 911 operator, during which he reported a fire in the Pacific Palisades.When federal investigators knocked on Rinderknecht’s door, he did not hide or refuse to answer, Haney said. Rinderknecht even agreed to drive back to the Palisades to help investigators pinpoint the start of the fire, he said.“It’s the voice and actions of a man who was trying to stop the fire,” Haney said.Leading up to the trial, Haney has argued that Rinderknecht is being made as a scapegoat for the Los Angeles fire department’s failure to fully extinguish the 1 January blaze.Judge Anne Hwang has ruled that the defense cannot introduce evidence or arguments about alleged negligence by the fire department, calling it irrelevant and with the potential to confuse the jury. Defense attorneys had planned to include testimony from a firefighter that the fire was visibly smoldering when first responders left before it reignited days later.More than a year after the fire, thousands of residents in western Los Angeles remain displaced, as recovery efforts slowly proceed. The wildfires became a lightning rod in the 2026 mayoral primary as incumbent mayor Karen Bass faced criticism over the city’s emergency response.Associated Press contributed to this story