Judge declares mistrial for man accused of starting deadly Palisades Fire

A judge declared a mistrial on Friday for a former Pacific Palisades resident accused of starting a fire that led to last year’s destructive Palisades Fire after the jury said it was deadlocked.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, was facing up to 45 years in federal prison for 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. All 12 jurors confirmed that was the case and said the split was 10 not guilty and two guilty.

The judge set a new trial date for Oct. 19 and the court ordered Rinderknecht remain detained.

Outside the courthouse, Rinderknecht’s attorney, Steve Haney, told reporters the fact that the vote was 10-2 in favor of the defense sent a message that the "government failed."

Defense attorney Steve Haney leave the courthouse after the jury declared a mistrial in the Palisades fire arson case against Jonathan Rinderknecht.

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“All they did was attack his character because there’s no evidence, no direct evidence at all that he maliciously started a fire,” he said.

However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said on social media that the evidence against Rinderknecht is "strong."

"We fully intend to retry this case before a new jury and obtain guilty verdicts on all charged counts," Essayli said.

It was announced Thursday that the jury had reached a verdict, but when attorneys and Rinderknecht filed into the room, the judge said the opposite — the jury cannot make a unanimous decision on each of the three charges based on a note they shared with the court.

The jury exchanged further notes with the judge that said there is nothing the court could do to help them reach a unanimous verdict and there were jurors dead set on both sides.

What happened in court?

The trial reconvened Friday to figure out the next steps after the jury said it was deadlocked.

Prosecutors were pushing for the court to tell the jurors to go back to deliberations in an attempt to work it out, but U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang expressed concerns that it could come off as coercion.

Hwang decided to call the jurors into the courtroom to confirm they cannot reach a unanimous verdict, and that there is nothing else the court could do to help them.

Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht maliciously started a smaller fire — the Lachman Fire — near a hiking trail in the Santa Monica Mountains just after midnight on New Year’s Day 2025. About a week later, it became the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. It killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures.

How we got here

Firefighters initially kept the Lachman Fire contained to about 8 acres, but it continued to burn underground in the days following. A strong, widespread windstorm spread the remnants to the surface and into nearby communities, becoming the Palisades Fire on Jan. 7.

According to the criminal complaint, Rinderknecht was working as an Uber driver on New Year’s Eve and dropped a passenger off in the Pacific Palisades before walking up the trail about a block from his former home. Two passengers later described Rinderknecht as appearing angry and agitated that night.

He took two phone videos from a hilltop clearing about half an hour before the first signs of the Lachman Fire were spotted in the area. According to prosecutors, Rinderknecht unsuccessfully tried to call 911 several times in the following minutes, eventually reporting the fire when he got through to authorities toward the bottom of the trail.

This undated photo shows Jonathan Rinderknecht, who was accused of starting the Palisades Fire.

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Cameras captured Rinderknecht driving away from the area before turning around and following fire trucks to the scene, according to the complaint. Prosecutors said he then hiked back up the same trail to take phone videos of the fire and first responders.

Officials later said the Palisades Fire was a “holdover” fire, a continuation of the smaller Lachman Fire from six days prior.

The Palisades Fire burned for more than three weeks across 23,000 acres. It destroyed homes, businesses and displaced thousands of residents, some of whom still haven’t been able to return to their neighborhoods more than a year later.

About the trial

Rinderknecht pleaded not guilty to the charges last October, and his trial started earlier this month.

Haney has said prosecutors are trying to blame Rinderknecht for a fire that started nearly a week before.

"Well what about what happened between Jan. 1 and Jan. 7?" Haney told reporters last fall. "Jonathan wasn't out there with a fire hose putting that fire out at the Lachman location, the Fire Department was. So why are they blaming him for whatever the Fire Department didn't do?"

Haney said during the trial that “no matter what the government's theory is, the evidence will show Jonathan did not start the Jan. 1 fire," according to LAist’s media partner CBS LA.

Moving forward

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s after action report, staffing levels on the day the Palisades Fire started fell short of the standard for extreme weather conditions. Despite the high risk, the report said the decision not to deploy more firefighters in advance was made in part to save money.

Los Angeles Fire Chief Jaime Moore, who was tapped for the top job after the former chief was removed by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass citing the fire response, said things have changed since then.

Moore told LAist’s AirTalk in January that the department has updated its policies to increase staffing for especially hazardous conditions and promoted training in wildland firefighting, which have different challenges than those in urban environments and contributed to confusion during the Palisades Fire.