Uber Passenger Says Palisades Fire Suspect Gave Off ‘Incel Energy’ During Unsettling Ride

White, who said he had been drinking that night, testified that the first three to five minutes of the trip involved casual conversation before the driver launched into a rant. Although he described Rinderknecht’s language as aggressive, White said he chose not to ask to get out of the Uber, believing it was safer to stay quiet.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told News Agency this may be one of the most “memorable” moments of Rinderknecht’s trial and added that prosecutors had a specific reason for calling White to testify.

“An incel is someone that is unable to have or maintain a relationship and is celibate involuntarily. So someone that is a loner, someone who is strange, someone like that is more likely to be an arsonist, is more likely to be a mass shooter. So by painting him in this way, I think it does help the prosecution’s case,” Rahmani said. “The question is, is this unfair character assassination? Because Rinderknecht isn’t charged with being a strange guy, he’s charged with an arsonist. And potentially this gives the defense another argument on appeal if their client is convicted.”

In a trial memorandum filed in April, prosecutors said Rinderknecht was apparently obsessed with Luigi Mangione, who is accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

“In the months leading up to the fire, he had become increasingly angry with his life and society at large,” prosecutors wrote. “For example, in the weeks and hours leading up to the fire, defendant fixated on Luigi Mangione, who allegedly murdered the UnitedHealthcare CEO in New York City on December 4, 2024.”

Rinderknecht searched the terms “free LuigiMangione,” “lets take down all the billionaires” and “reddit lets kill all the billionaires” on Dec. 12 and 13, 2024, federal prosecutors said.

“Many of defendant’s Uber passengers on December 31, 2024 and January 1, 2025, described defendant as angry, intense, driving erratically, and ranting about being ‘pissed off at the world’ and Luigi Mangione, capitalism, and vigilantism,” prosecutors added in the court filing.

When investigators asked Rinderknecht on Jan. 24, 2025, why someone might commit arson in the Pacific Palisades, he allegedly responded it would be out of resentment and invoked Mangione.

“When investigators asked defendant why someone might commit arson in the Pacific Palisades, he responded that it would be out of resentment of the rich enjoying their money as ‘we’re basically being enslaved by them’ and compared such an act of ‘desperation’ to the murder for which Mangione was charged,” prosecutors wrote.

Luigi Mangione appears at an evidence suppression hearing at the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City on May 18, 2026. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, told News Agency in a statement: “As we have stated before in multiple public court filings, Mr. Mangione does not support violent actions and does not condone past or future political violence. These repeated attempts to connect him to unrelated acts or to insinuate that he condones or supports these acts are irresponsible, dangerous and prejudicial.”

Lena Weissbrot, who considers herself a supporter of Mangione, addressed the connection while speaking to News Agency on Tuesday outside of a scheduled court hearing for the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer.

“I don’t think we can blame these things on Luigi, I think it’s that we have so much wealth inequality in America, that eventually it’s going to boil over, and I think that Luigi was just a temperature check for like…It sort of allowed people a vessel for all of the rage that’s been boiling under the surface here,” she said.

Weissbrot did add she could “never support” the person who started the Palisades Fire, stating she’s from Los Angeles.

Rinderknecht is charged with destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire. News Agency reached out to his lawyers for comment.

-->