The Florida man who allegedly started a small fire on New Years Day before it grew into the deadly Palisades Fire was scheduled to appear in court to face his charges in downtown Los Angeles.

Jonathan Rinderknecht was being held at the downtown after being extradited to downtown LA from Florida, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Rinderknecht, 29, is charged 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 as charged, Rinderknecht would face a sentence of between five and 45 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.

Rinderknecht is accused of starting a small fire on New Year’s Day in the Palisades that smoldered underground until Jan. 7, when it exploded in a historic Santa Ana windstorm to become the Palisades Fire. Twelve people were killed and more than 6,800 structures, including residences and businesses, were destroyed.

The Palisades Fire began in the Palisades Highlands, where a week earlier, a relatively small brush fire now called the Lachman Fire was reported early New Year’s Day. Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said Rinderknecht, who lived in the neighborhood near where the Lachman Fire started, was in the Pacific Palisades area on the night of Dec. 31 after working as an Uber driver. Two passengers, one of whom was dropped off in the Palisades area, reported that he appeared agitated, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

After dropping off the passenger, Rinderknecht parked near Skull Rock Trailhead and walked up the trail, Essayli said. He then used his phone to photograph a hilltop area and listened to a French rap song that included references to lighting fires, he added. Essayli said he listened to the song several times in the days before the fire.

About 12 minutes into the new year, sensors indicated a fire had started in the area.

Rinderknecht was interviewed Jan. 24, but claimed he was near a hiking trail, despite geo-location that showed he was standing in a clearing about 30 feet from the fire as it rapidly grew, Essayli said. Prosecutors said Rinderknecht left the area of the fire’s origin, but came back later that night and recorded video.

“Rinderknecht called 911 several times, but didn’t get through because his iPhone was out of cellphone range,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “When he finally connected with 911, he was at the bottom of the hiking trail and reported the fire. By that point, a nearby resident already had reported the fire to authorities.

“Rinderknecht then fled in his car, passing fire engines driving in the opposite direction. He then turned around and followed the fire engines to the scene, driving at a high rate of speed. Rinderknecht walked up the same trail from earlier that night to watch the fire and the firefighters. At approximately 1:02 a.m., he used his iPhone to take more videos of the scene. “

Essayli said Rinderknecht was arrested based on digital evidence, including a ChatGPT profile that authorities said displayed a fire burning and people fleeing from the flames in what appeared to be an urban setting. The image, which also featured burning structures, was produced a few months before the fire, Essayli said.

In the criminal complaint, prosecutors said Rinderknecht typed a question into his ChatGPT app, “Are you at fault if a fire is lift (sic) because of your cigarettes?”

The response was, “Yes,” followed by an explanation, prosecutors said.

Witness statements, video surveillance, cellphone data, and an analysis of fire dynamics and patterns at the scene also were part of the investigation. The ATF staged several controlled burns near the point of origin to test the detection of smoke and flames by wilderness cameras and other remote sensors, officials said.

The Palisades Fire expanded to 23,400 acres before it was contained Jan. 31. The Palisades Fire is the ninth-deadliest wildfire on record in California and the third-most destructive.