Palisades Fire arrest: Man arrested in Florida, charged with starting deadly LA wildfire

ORLANDO, Fla. - A Florida man has been arrested, accused of starting what became the deadly and destructive "Palisades Fire" on Jan. 1, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. The Palisades Fire killed 12 people, burned more than 23,000 acres, and destroyed more than 6,000 structures.

Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice allege that the man arrested intentionally started a fire on Jan. 1, 2025, which then spread and reignited to become the deadly and destructive Palisades Fire.

Here are updates from that press conference.

Watch: Full press conference announcing arrest in Palisades Fire investigation 

Federal court hearing underway

Jonathan Rinderknecht appeared in federal court in Orlando on Wednesday. Court started at 1:30 p.m. and was done by 2:30 p.m., according to a FOX 35 reporter who was in the courtroom. 

Photo and video recording is generally not allowed in federal court.

Here's what we've learned:

• A second court hearing has been set for Thursday morning. Bond could be discussed at that hearing.
• Jonathan Rinderknecht is originally from Indiana. He has a high school diploma.
• The suspect acknowledged that he understood the charge against him.

Are more charges possible?

Officials alluded that additional charges are possible, but that the case still needs to be presented to a grand jury.  

"Right now we've charged him on a criminal complaint. We have not determined all the charges he's going to face. We'll be presenting that evidence to a grand jury, and we will make decisions about additional charges at that time. So, this is right now just a criminal complaint. We wanted to arrest him. We wanted to get him into custody. And this will go to a grand jury shortly."

DOJ: If convicted, punishment could be years in federal prison

If convicted, punishment would range from 5 to 20 years in federal prison. The DOJ said the alleged charge has a mandatory minimum of 5 years with a max of 20 years. 

ATF: ‘We’re not making a probable cause arrest'

"I'll just highlight, we're not making a probable cause arrest. This team up here feels that we've met ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’ We are confident that the burden of proof by the government on this presumed innocent person will be met in trial."

Is a motive known?

Officials said Jonathan Rinderknecht has talked with investigators and detectives and given "false statements." 

"He did speak to us and he made false statements."

"We're not going to get into motive right now because we're going to have to prove this case in court in front of a jury…We're laying out the evidence in the complaint," he said, noting that Rinderknecht appears to be in the only in the area at the time of the fire, and that there were no reports of fireworks at the time.

US Attorney: ‘Open flame’ started Palisades Fire

The U.S. Attorney told reporters that the Jan. 1, 2025 fire was started by an "open flame," but did not elaborate.

He said the suspect, Jonathan Rinderknecht, lived in Palisades, California, and was "familiar" with the neighborhood. He also had a friend who reportedly lived in the area. 

Officials said Rinderknecht did talk to investigators and gave "false statements." As for a motive for why the fire may have been set, the officials said he would not discuss it, citing the potential of a trial. 

ATF Special Agent: ‘Intentionally set fire near view point along Temescal Ridge Trail’

The ATF Special Agent in Charge told reporters that ATF and other investigators collected and analyzed thousands of evidence and items.

"We processed hundreds of acres of damaged fire, examining every inch for the smallest clue. Over the course of the last eight months, investigators conducted hundreds of interviews, including witnesses overseas, and pursued more than 200 leads. We collected more than 13,000 items of evidence, including fire, debris, digital data, DNA samples, all analyzed by ATF's state-of-the-art lab."

He said the investigation revealed that an initial fire was "intentionally set" near a view point along the Temescal Ridge Trail in Los Angeles. It was a 'holdover fire," meaning it was  "deeply seated" in dense vegetation.

Rinderknecht is charged with setting the fire on Jan. 1, 2025.

DOJ: Suspect was an Uber driver, reportedly agitated that night

The DOJ alleged that Jonathan Rinderknecht was working as an Uber driver on New Year's Eve. Two passengers reportedly told detectives that he appeared "agitated."

He allegedly finished a ride that night and tried to connect with a friend, but was unable to reach that person. He then went up to a nearby trail in the Palisades Highland neighborhood, where he recorded short videos on his phone and listened to a rap song repeatedly. Officials said the music video for the rap song depicted "objects being lit on fire."

Officials said 12 minutes after midnight, a fire was reported in the area. Rinderknecht allegedly tried multiple times to contact 911 about the fire. He's also accused of following emergency vehicles dispatched to fight the fire, and reportedly captured videos of fire responders fighting the fire over the next several days. 

DOJ: Palisades Fire suspect used ChatGPT to show a ‘burning forest’

Officials alleged that 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht submitted a prompt to ChatGPT which showed a "dystopian painting" of a burning forest, a burning city, and people fleeing.

He allegedly produced this image "a few months" before the California fires.

Suspect arrested in Melbourne, Florida 

Officials identified the suspect as 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht.  He was arrested Tuesday near his home in Melbourne, Florida, on a charge of destruction of property by means of fire, which became the deadly Palisades Fire. 

He is expected to be in federal court in Orlando on Wednesday.

The Palisades Fire

The Palisades Fire killed 12 people, burned more than 23,000 acres, and destroyed more than 6,000 structures, officials said. The fire was first reported on Jan. 7, 2025 in Palisades Highlands, an LA-area neighborhood.

This is a breaking news situation. FOX 35 will update as new developments come in.