The man accused of starting the Palisades fire was 'angry at the world,' angry at the rich

The man accused of starting the Palisades fire, one of the costliest disasters in American history, was motivated by anger at the wealthy and viewed Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of a UnitedHealthcare executive, as a Robin Hood, according to court documents detailing evidence gathered by federal prosecutors.

In court documents filed last week, authorities say a review of his computer showed Jonathan Rinderknecht searched for “Free Luigi” and “reddit lets kill all billionaires” in December 2024.

Rinderknecht, 30, is accused of starting the Lachman fire in Pacific Palisades on Jan. 1, 2025, which smoldered underground for a week before erupting in the deadly Palisades fire.

According to the brief, passengers described Rinderknecht – who works as an Uber driver – as “angry, aggressive, driving erratically and talking about 'anger at the world' and Luigi Mangione, capitalism and vigilantism,” in the hours before the clock struck midnight.

“On New Year's Eve 2024, the defendant was alone again,” federal prosecutors wrote in a 25-page document. They allege that the relationship with the co-worker ended that year and that he rejected her again on December 30, which led to “a visible reaction: She left him two crazy voicemails and went on chats on ChatGPT expressing her deep displeasure with the way he was treating her.”

Authorities say she briefly imagined she was at her ex-lover's place and listening to a French rap song that evoked images of fire in its music video.

It could be very challenging to piece together all these pieces of evidence to make a strong case for Rinderknecht's prosecutors, said Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor. The prosecutor “must convince the court to admit the evidence of his relationship, his dislike of capitalism, and the praise of Luigi Mangione as … proof of motive.” “Unlike the interest in the fire, which his defense also objected to, the judge may find that this other evidence is too weak,” said Rahmani.

Rahmani said the case hinged on the evidence of the fire that broke out again on January 1 days later.

“Prosecutors relied on ATF experts to confirm this, and the defense appointed their own experts to argue. This is the most important issue in this case, and whoever wins the expert battle will win.”

Prosecutors allege evidence shows that the Lachman fire that broke out on Hidden Buddha Hill on Jan. 1 — which officials thought was extinguished — smoldered for days and reignited amid a powerful storm on January 7. The Palisades fire killed 12 people, destroyed 6,500 buildings and insured properties and cost billions in the Palisades and Malibu.

Within three weeks of the fire, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents focused on Rinderknecht, who called 911 repeatedly to report the Lachman fire. Investigators seized a Bic barbecue lighter from Rinderknecht's car with his DNA on it that he admitted to having on the Temescal Canyon Trail in Pacific Palisades, according to the crime report.

Investigators obtained warrants for his cell phone and a number of electronic items after impounding the Uber driver at the scene, and noted that he turned his car around to follow firefighters after the fire.

“On December 29, 2024, just two days before the Lachman Fire, the defendant recorded three videos of fire engines from LAFD Station No. 27 in the Hollywood area,” prosecutors wrote. “While recording, the defendant said out loud (apparently talking to himself), 'They are coming to get you bro, I'm telling you, you have to fix that brain, and don't like this madness, they're on their way, don't worry.'”

Asked by the investigator about Jan. 24 why someone would set this fire, Rinderknecht said “it could be because of the anger of the rich enjoying their money” and “compared the act of 'desperation'” to Mangione's killing of a United Healthcare executive on a New York street in December 2024, according to federal prosecutors.

Rinderknecht used his iPhone to take videos of the pristine landscape of Hidden Buddha Hill and listen to the French rap song “Un Zder, Un The,” an affidavit that he said was about despair and anger and whose video showed a trash can on fire.

“When the investigators interviewed him, the defendant lied and said that he first saw the fire when he was halfway up the hill, returning to his car. Based on the geolocation information of the defendant's phone, he was still on Buddha Hill cleaning (at the top of the hill) watching the fire grow when he called 911,” prosecutors said.

Nine months after the fire, Rinderknecht would be arrested. Prosecutors say he started the fire at 12:12 a.m. and stayed there until 2 a.m.

Steve Haney, Rinderknecht's attorney, said the government has no evidence linking his client to the Lachman fire. In court filings, he says the cause of the Palisades fire can be traced to Los Angeles city fire officials failing to properly extinguish a smoldering fire – not started by his client – despite warnings from workers saying it was not extinguished.

“What is important is that the government has: no eyewitnesses who saw Mr. Rinderknecht start the fire; no physical evidence of accelerants, flammable liquids, or materials related to intentional burning in the area where it started; no inculpatory statements or confessions of Mr. Rinderknecht; no surveillance video of Mr. Rinderknecht's ignition source or fuel starting the fire,” Haney wrote.

Despite cell phone pings that put Rinderknecht in the general area where the fire started, Haney and his experts argue that authorities have few details from the terabytes of evidence.

In fact, prior search warrants focused on the explosions that residents reported hearing. The ATF report on the cause does not identify the residents who said they saw fireworks that night, or the four youths who were seen by a security guard or bystander, Haney noted.

Federal prosecutors, who want to jail Rinderknecht for up to 45 years, say they will call in ATF experts to rule out whether fireworks, cigarettes or electrical wires started the Palisades fire.

“The cause of the fire was the introduction of an open (light) flame to combustible materials such as vegetation or common combustible materials, such as paper,” the ATF report concluded, and that would be the Palisades fire.

Federal prosecutors allege that after moving into his sister's home in Florida in April 2025, Rinderknecht “lashed out” and threatened to burn her house down, while shouting statements such as, “Why did you bring me here?”

“The defendant's fascination with fire began at least in 2018,” federal prosecutors wrote, saying he drove through the Santa Monica and Winnetka areas with his then-girlfriend to “admire the Woolsey Fire.”

The case will return to federal court in downtown LA on May 11, where a judge will consider arguments from both sides about the evidence to be included in the case.