The man accused of starting one of the most devastating fires in the history of Los Angeles ranted angrily against capitalism and the wealthy, and compared purposely torching the Pacific Palisades neighborhood to the shooting of the United Healthcare CEO by suspect Luigi Mangione.
In a pretrial memorandum filed last week by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, prosecutors said accused L.A. arsonist Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, was observed by his Uber passengers acting “angry, intense” and driving erratically on the days prior to Jan.1, 2025, when he allegedly ignited a fire that spread to 37 square miles.
The blaze caused more than $50 billion in damage and killed 12 people.
Mr. Rinderknect, his Uber passengers said, ranted “about being pissed off at the world and Luigi Mangione, capitalism and vigilantism” in the days leading up to allegedly setting the blaze.
Internet searches uncovered by investigators showed he was fixated on Mr. Mangione, who is charged with the December 2024 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and is viewed by some on the left as a modern-day Robin Hood avenging those denied health care coverage by the insurance giant.
When investigators asked Mr. Rinderknect why someone might set the Pacific Palisades neighborhood ablaze, “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.”
According to investigators, Mr. Rinderknect “exhibited extreme anger, indignation, and frustration” over a prior relationship that had ended, and which he had tried unsuccessfully to rekindle. He was upset about being alone on New Year’s Eve, prosecutors said, when he hiked up a trail in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood where he had once happily lived with his ex-paramour.
He lit a fire and watched it grow, then called 911 several times and fled the area. He returned to watch firefighters work to extinguish the blaze and took videos, prosecutors said.
Mr. Rinderknect’s trial is set to begin on June 8. A grand jury indicted him last October with one count of destruction of property by means of fire, one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, and one count of timber set afire. If convicted, he faces up to 45 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Mr. Rinderknect was living alone in a North Hollywood apartment and working as an Uber driver in December 2024.
They said he had become increasingly angry with his life and appeared to blame society for his problems.
On Dec. 12 and 13, 2024, prosecutors said, he scoured the internet for news related to Mr. Mangione using the search terms “free Luigi Mangione,” “lets take down all the billionaires” and “reddit lets kill all the billionaires.”
On Jan. 3, 2025, two days after allegedly igniting the Palisades fire, he took a screenshot of a news story about Mangione pleading not guilty.
According to authorities, the Jan. 1 fire was extinguished by firefighters but it continued to smolder and burn underground for a week before high winds caused it to spread above ground and begin its massive and destructive spread.
The fire destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, among them mansions owned by Hollywood stars.
Mr. Rinderknect has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Steven H. Haney, argued the blaze that burned down the Pacific Palisades started one week after the Jan. 1 fire allegedly set by Mr. Rinderknect. Emerging evidence from lawsuits, Mr. Haney said in March, shows the fire department abandoned the blaze before it was fully extinguished.
“Jonathan Rinderknecht has spent 150 days in a federal detention center based on a blatantly false narrative in the criminal complaint,” Mr. Haney said. “This evidence calls into question not only the fundamental fairness for my client’s continued detention, but the very foundation of the charges themselves.”
The Washington Times reached out to Mr. Haney.
