Judge declares mistrial for alleged Palisades arsonist

The trial for the 29-year-old man accused of sparking the devastating 2025 Palisades Fire ended on Friday in a mistrial due to a hung jury. Former Uber driver Jonathan Rinderknecht faced charges of arson and destruction of property related to the Los Angeles-area fire that killed a dozen people and burned more than 23,000 acres and over 6,000 structures.

Rinderknecht pleaded not guilty to the federal charges in October, after he was arrested and indicted earlier that month. His trial began roughly two weeks ago and ended in U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang’s mistrial declaration Friday afternoon. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict after about 13 hours of deliberation over the course of two days.

One juror identified herself as Syrena and spoke with the Associated Press outside the courthouse. She said she was one of the many jurors who voted to acquit, arguing there wasn’t enough proof to criminally convict Rinderknecht.

How is he accused of starting the fire? Fire officials determined that the devastating Palisades fire was caused by the rekindling of the Lachman Fire, a smaller blaze sparked on Jan. 1. Prosecutors cited video footage and geolocation data placing Rinderknecht at the site of the Lachman fire’s origin. Rinderknecht also allegedly asked ChatGPT if someone could be held responsible for accidentally starting a fire with cigarettes while on the phone with 911 reporting a wildfire, according to court records.

How have prosecutors responded? Federal prosecutors fully planned to retry the case before a new jury, according to a Friday statement from First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. The evidence strongly showed that Rinderknecht lit the fire that would become the devastating Palisades fire, and prosecutors planned to obtain guilty verdicts on all the charges against him, Essayli added.