\n Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is facing a federal charge of destruction of property by means of fire, according to Bill Essayli, the acting US attorney for Southern California.\n <\/p>\n
\n Authorities painted a picture of a man singularly focused on a city going up in flames at a news conference Wednesday, saying the suspect repeatedly watched a rap video which included \u201cobjects being lit on fire\u201d in the days before allegedly setting the fire.\n <\/p>\n
\n The suspect also allegedly prompted ChatGPT to generate a \u201cdystopian painting showing in part a burning forest and a crowd fleeing from it,\u201d in the months before the fire started, according to Bill Essayli, the acting US attorney for Southern California.\n <\/p>\n
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\n The suspect, who worked as an Uber driver and lived in the Pacific Palisades at the time, is under arrest on suspicion of arson in connection with the Palisades Fire<\/a> and is expected to make his first appearance in federal court in Orlando on Wednesday.\n <\/p>\n \n CNN has contacted Rinderknecht\u2019s attorney for comment but did not immediately hear back.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAs the world watched in horror as the Palisades fire burned, victims perished in the smoke and flames. Homes where cherished family memories and belongings were turned to rubble and ash. The iconic Pacific Coast Highway along Malibu looked like a war zone,\u201d Essayli said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThousands of people were forced to evacuate. The homes and businesses cannot be rebuilt. This arrest, we hope, will provide a measure of justice to all those who were impacted.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The suspect was working as an Uber driver and dropped off a passenger on New Year\u2019s Eve before walking up a nearby trail where he took some iPhone videos of the view and listened to the rap song, before allegedly starting a fire 12 minutes into the new year, officials said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt took the defendant several tries to contact 911 to report the fire,\u201d Essayli said. \u201cHe fled the scene in his car, but turned around after passing fire engines driving in the opposite direction to fight the fire.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The blaze the suspect allegedly started was called the Lachman Fire, and it grew to eight acres before firefighters were able to knock it down, according to alerts<\/a> from the Los Angeles Fire Department, which noted a team would work to ensure no flare-ups occurred.\n <\/p>\n \n The Palisades Fire, which began the morning of January 7, has been determined to be a \u201choldover\u201d fire, according to the federal criminal complaint, meaning it started from the remnants of an earlier blaze \u2013 likely the Lachman Fire in this case.\n <\/p>\n \n The proximity of the two fires had prompted questions as to whether winds could have rekindled smoldering debris left from New Year\u2019s Eve fireworks to trigger the Palisades Fire, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle<\/a> and the Washington Post<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n LAFD had suppressed the Lachman Fire on January 1, the complaint says, but it \u201ccontinued to smolder and burn underground\u201d unnoticed.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe investigation into the Palisades Fire of January 2025 was lengthy, complex and, as I mentioned, extremely thorough,\u201d Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said at a news conference on Wednesday.\n <\/p>\n \n The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined the fire \u201cwas ignited with an open flame,\u201d Essayli said.\n <\/p>\n \n Essayli declined to speak to Rinderknecht\u2019s motive.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cPart of the lengthy time that it took to go over the thousands of acres that were burned is we literally had agents with our partners on their hands and knees crawling through fire debris,\u201d said ATF Special Agent in Charge Kenny Cooper.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThis action was deliberate, intended to cause devastating harm to the City of Los Angeles. This arrest is a critical step toward ensuring accountability, justice, and healing for our city,\u201d Interim LAFD Chief Ronnie Villanueva said in a statement following the announcement of Rinderknecht\u2019s arrest. \u201cAlthough the flames have been extinguished, the impact of these fires will linger for years to come.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n California Attorney General Rob Bonta told CNN<\/a> earlier this year there were \u201csome indications that arson is a possibility that we have to be open to.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Fifteen members of the ATF\u2019s National Response Team<\/a> headed up the investigation into the fire\u2019s \u201ccause and origins,\u201d ATF deputy assistant director Tim Jones previously told CNN.\n <\/p>\n \n The Palisades wildfire is the ninth deadliest wildfire in state history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n The deadly inferno in Los Angeles is the third-most destructive wildfire<\/a> in Southern California history, destroying thousands of homes and businesses and burning more than 23,000 acres.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cOur heroic firefighters fought the blaze valiantly with no rest,\u201d Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. \u201cEach day that families are displaced is a day too long and as we are working tirelessly to bring Angelenos home, we are also working towards closure and towards justice \u2013 and today is a step forward in that process.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The fire was anticipated to be among the costliest wildfires in the history of the United States, a climate expert predicted<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image001-20251008163206628.jpg\")
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