Authorities said Jonathan Rinderknecht took photos on his cellphone and listened to a rap song “whose music video included things being lit on fire.”
A 29-year-old former Uber driver was arrested and charged in connection with the Palisades Fire in January, one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, authorities said at a news conference Wednesday. Authorities allege that Jonathan Rinderknecht “maliciously” set the fire, which killed a dozen people. He was arrested Tuesday near his home in Florida on a charge of destruction of property by means of fire, Bill Essayli, acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said on X.
Authorities said the Palisades Fire was a “holdover” fire, or a continuation of the Lachman Fire, which Rinderknecht is alleged to have started on New Year’s Day. Firefighters were able to suppress the Lachman Fire but did not know that it continued to smolder and burn underground, a criminal complaint says. On Jan. 7, as heavy winds swept through the area, the fire began to surface and spread, becoming the Palisades Fire.