Twenty-nine-year-old Uber driver Jonathan Rinderknecht was depressed, angry and looking for passengers at 11 p.m. last New Year’s Eve. An hour later, he started a fire in the Palisades Highlands that ultimately led to the Jan. 7 blaze that killed 12 people and burned more than 23,000 acres in January, according to charging papers.
Here’s what we know about Rinderknecht so far:
- Jonathan Rinderknecht grew up in France and was living in the Pacific Palisades at the time of the fires.
- He is 29 years old and was working as an Uber driver on Jan. 1, the night the initial Lachman Fire began.
- In the last year, he relocated to Orlando, Florida following the devastation of winter wildfires in Los Angeles.
- His ChatGPT logs show a preoccupation with fire and destruction, including AI-generated images of cities burning and instances of him burning his own possessions ahead of Jan. 1.
- He listened consistently to the song “Un Zder, Un Thé” by the French artist Josman in the lead-up to New Year’s. The music video on YouTube features Josman lighting things on fire. Google records indicate that Rinderknecht watched the video three times that week, and listened to the song nine times. At 11:54 p.m. the night of the fire, he listened to the song again.
- Passengers he drove on Jan. 1 said he seemed “agitated and angry.”
- On the night of the fire, he asked ChatGPT: “Are you at fault if a fire is lift [sic] because of your cigarettes?”
- Rinderknecht is registered to vote in Florida but not affiliated with a political party. He donated $2 to the Biden campaign in September 2020, according to the Federal Election Commission.
- A motive is still unknown; Rinderknecht does not have a criminal history.
- The destruction of property by means of fire charge is a felony under federal law. If convicted, Rinderknecht could face five to 20 years in prison.
More details from the Oct. 2 charging papers below:
At 12:17 a.m. on Jan. 1, Rinderknecht, who also went by “Jonathan Rinder” and “Jon Rinder,” called 911 and reported a fire at the Skull Rock trailhead along the Temescal Ridge. At the same time, he reportedly asked ChatGPT, “Are you at fault if a fire is lift [sic] because of your cigarettes?”
Investigators report that no other individuals were present in the ignition area for the Jan. 1 fire that would become known as the Lachman Fire.
In the criminal complaint that was filed by the Department of Justice against Rinderknecht on Oct. 2, it is stated that Rinderknecht, who grew up in France and is fluent in French, was working as an Uber driver on Dec. 31, 2024. Two passengers that he drove that night later told investigators that he seemed “agitated and angry.” He was a resident of the Pacific Palisades at the time and later relocated to Orlando, Florida after the January devastation grew out of control.
The suspect does not have a criminal history, but logs from ChatGPT and Google indicate a preoccupation with violent fires and the literal burning of his own possessions. For instance, in July 2024, Rinderknecht fed the following, detailed prompt to ChatGPT:
“A dystopian painting divided into distinct parts that blend together seamlessly. On the far left, there is a burning forest. Next to it, a crowd of people is running away from the fire, leading to the middle. In the middle, hundreds of thousands of people in poverty are trying to get past a gigantic gate with a big dollar sign on it. On the other side of the gate and the entire wall is a conglomerate of the richest people. They are chilling, watching the world burn down, and watching the people struggle. They are laughing, enjoying themselves, and dancing. The scene is detailed and impactful, highlighting the stark contrast and the direct connection between the different parts of the world.”
The AI-generated image that resulted from that prompt can be seen above.
Later, on Nov. 1, 2024, Rinderknecht told ChatGPT, “I am 28 years old. And … I basically … This just happened. Maybe like … I don’t know, maybe like three months ago or something. Like, the realization of all this. I literally burnt the Bible that I had. It felt amazing. I felt so liberated.”
Earlier that year, on Aug. 30, Rinderknecht told a family member, “Burned the Bible I had literally,” according to the charging papers.
Rinderknecht was familiar with the Skull Rock area, having lived one block away from the trailhead. He frequently hiked it. After he called 911, he left the area, but turned around to follow the incoming fire trucks back up the trail and offered to help fight the fire, according to the docs.
GPS data places him within 30 and 40 feet of the fire’s origin that night. Video footage from Rinderknecht’s iPhone taken the afternoon of Dec. 31, 2024 showed what appeared to be a green lighter inside his apartment. Investigators later found what is suspected to be the same lighter in the glove compartment of Rinderknecht’s car when they searched it on Jan. 24. A sample of DNA taken from the lighter matched Rinderknecht’s.
He later admitted to having brought a lighter with him on his trip to the Hidden Buddha clearing, but claimed to not remember what lighter it was. A witness who reportedly encountered Rinderknecht around 1 a.m. on Jan. 1, meanwhile, relayed to investigators that Rinderknecht told them he had been at a house party when he first saw the fire. But GPS and phone data refutes that claim.
After his interaction with the arriving firefighters, Rinderknecht walked back up the trail and took four videos of the growing fire and the responders on the scene. During an interview on Jan. 24, Rinderknecht correctly told investigators that the fire began on the hillside below the Hidden Buddha clearing. The criminal complaint against Rinderknecht states, “The investigators are not aware of any other way for [him] to have known this non-public information other than having witnessed the start of the fire.”
Rinderknecht was apprehended Tuesday in Orlando. The Palisades Fire was previously thought to have been caused by a Jan. 7 brush fire. However, authorities now believe that the fire started by Rinderknecht smoldered underground for several days before reigniting due to the Santa Ana winds.
The January fires altogether burned 57,000 acres, destroyed more than 18,000 structures and killed at least 31 people. Over 200,000 locals were forced to evacuate their homes.
