Federal Judge to Hold Hearing for Alleged Palisades Fire Arsonist Play

Jonathan Rinderknecht, the man accused of burning down the Palisades and the eastern end of Malibu, has a court hearing today.

As we reported Friday, Rinderknecht is expected to be on trial this summer. He has pleaded not guilty.

Federal prosecutors laid out their case against Rinderknecht last week. Today the judge is expected to rule on what parts of that case will be admissible.

The prosecutors say they have evidence that the alleged arsonist was driving around on New Year's Eve, 2024 in an erratic manner — enough to worry his customers. He was ranting about being angry against the world. He was disconsolate about his lack of plans for New Year's Eve.

Rinderknecht, 29, has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history.

There is physical evidence linking Rinderknecht with the ignition of a fire in the very first hours of January 1, 2025. That fire was supposed to have been put out. It was still burning undetected deep in root systems on a hillside in Pacific Palisades. It was called the Lachman fire and the city of Los Angeles fire department thought they had put it out.

But it exploded back into flames as hurricane-force Santa Anas blasted through the canyons of Pacific Palisades. It killed five people in the Palisades and seven in and near Malibu. Property damage topped $50 billion.

But all that is simply allegations — none of it has been proved.

Today we may get some indication from the federal court judge as to how strong the U.S. Justice Department case against Rinderknecht really is.