An arrest has been made in relation to the California Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and damaged thousands of homes and businesses in Los Angeles County earlier this year.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was detained on a federal complaint accusing him of maliciously sparking the Palisades Fire in January, Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli revealed on Wednesday, October 8.
The complaint alleges that Rinderknecht ignited a fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on New Year’s Day, which “eventually turned into one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history, causing death and widespread destruction,” according to Essayli.
“Among the evidence that was collected from his digital devices was an image he generated on ChatGPT depicting a burning city,” the attorney said.
Rinderknecht, of Melbourne, Fla., was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, October 8, at 1:30 p.m. in Orlando, Fla. It is unclear whether he has entered a plea or hired an attorney to speak on his behalf.
According to a federal complaint acquired by PEOPLE, investigators determined that the Palisades incident was a “holdover” incident, meaning it was a continuation of the Lachman Fire, which started on January 1, 2025.
“Although firefighters quickly suppressed the Lachman Fire, unbeknownst to anyone the fire continued to smolder and burn underground within the root structure of dense vegetation,” according to the claim.
A week later, on January 7, high winds prompted the subsurface fire to erupt and spread above ground, resulting in significant destruction in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
According to a report from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the blaze killed 12 people and burned over 23,000 acres.
Rinderknecht, who used to live in the Pacific Palisades, most likely used a lighter to set fire to flammable stuff like plants or paper, according to the complaint.
“While we cannot undo the damage and destruction that was done, we hope his arrest and the charges against him bring some measure of justice to the victims of this horrific tragedy,” Essayli wrote in the message he left.
