Overview
- Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, entered a not guilty plea to three federal counts alleging he intentionally set the smaller Lachman Fire that later became the Palisades Fire.
- A U.S. magistrate judge kept him in custody without bail, and his next hearing is Nov. 12 ahead of a jury trial scheduled for Dec. 16.
- Investigators cite witness accounts, video, cellphone geolocation, fire‑dynamics analysis, a lighter recovered from his car, and ChatGPT logs and AI‑generated images.
- Prosecutors say the Jan. 1 blaze smoldered underground and resurfaced on Jan. 7 during high winds, ultimately burning about 23,400 acres, destroying roughly 6,800 structures and killing 12.
- The defense calls him a scapegoat and argues intervening factors, including fire‑suppression decisions, break the causal link; Florida police also released August bodycam video from a prior traffic stop involving Rinderknecht.