U.S. federal authorities arrested a 29-year-old man on charges that he intentionally started the blaze that days later became the Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the Pacific Coast area of Los Angeles.
Jonathan Rinderknecht was charged with maliciously setting the fire on New Year’s Day, Bill Essayli, the U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, said Wednesday. He was arrested a day earlier at his home in Florida, and appeared in court in Orlando, where a magistrate judge ordered that Rinderknecht remain in custody until a hearing Thursday. His court-appointed lawyer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Essayli said Rinderknecht, who had lived in the Pacific Palisades area, worked as an Uber driver on New Year’s Eve. He dropped off a passenger near where a fire was later discovered to have started that evening. After finishing his shift, he walked up a nearby trail, where he stood on a hilltop while taking videos on his iPhone and listening to a rap song which included lyrics about "objects being lit on fire,” Essayli said.
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