Prosecutors have revealed that the man accused of igniting the New Year’s Day blaze, which escalated into the fatal Palisades fire, was reportedly “fixated” on Luigi Mangione and harbored a “resentment of the rich.”
Jonathan Rinderknecht was apprehended in October 2025 and faced charges of property destruction by fire. He pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the January 2025 Palisades Fire. According to a recent trial memorandum, Rinderknecht was allegedly obsessed with Mangione, who is implicated in the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
“Leading up to the incident, Rinderknecht grew increasingly disillusioned with his life and society as a whole,” prosecutors stated. “In the days and hours preceding the fire, he became fixated on Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering the UnitedHealthcare CEO in New York City on December 4, 2024.”
Federal prosecutors disclosed that on December 12 and 13, 2024, Rinderknecht conducted online searches for phrases such as “free LuigiMangione,” “let’s take down all the billionaires,” and “reddit let’s kill all the billionaires.”
Jonathan Rinderknecht, aged 29, faces charges for setting the fire that evolved into the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles.
On January 3, 2025, Rinderknecht purportedly captured a screenshot of a news article reporting Mangione’s plea of not guilty.
“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 wrote in a 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 attends an evidentiary hearing in the murder case of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson at the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York on Dec. 18, 2025. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
Fox News Digital reached out to Rinderknecht’s attorney for comment.
Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, told Fox News Digital 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.”
Before Rinderknecht allegedly started the fire that served as the precursor to the Palisades Fire, prosecutors said in the memo that he “exhibited extreme anger, indignation, and frustration about being unable to find companionship on New Year’s Eve.”
Specifically, prosecutors alleged, Rinderknecht was frustrated about his relationship with a former co-worker he briefly dated in March 2024. When the former co-worker requested space from him on Dec. 30, 2024, Rinderknecht “left her two manic voicemails and entered prompts into ChatGPT expressing his extreme displeasure of her treatment of him,” prosecutors said.
A sketch shows Jonathan Rinderknecht inside federal court in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 9, 2025. He faces charges for allegedly starting a New Year’s Day fire that killed 12 people in Pacific Palisades, Calif. (Neftali Melendez/Unknown)
Federal authorities said Rinderknecht worked as an Uber driver in Los Angeles from New Year’s Eve 2024 to New Year’s Day 2025, adding that two of his passengers expressed that “he appeared agitated and angry that night after dropping off a passenger in Pacific Palisades.”
After allegedly sparking the fire after parking at the Skull Rock trailhead, Rinderknecht called 911, then asked ChatGPT, “Are you at fault if a fire is lift [sic] because of your cigarettes?”
ChatGPT, according to the complaint, responded with “Yes,” and explained.
While prosecutors allege that Rinderknecht sparked the Lachman Fire, which was put out Jan. 2, heavy winds reignited underground embers, which sparked the Palisades Fire. In total, the Palisades Fire claimed the lives of 12 people and left many displaced.
Rinderknecht has been charged with destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
