Jury deadlocks in Palisades Fire arson trial

A federal jury weighing whether Jonathan Rinderknecht started the fire that became the deadly 2025 Palisades Fire told the court Thursday it was deadlocked, leaving the closely watched arson trial unresolved after two days of deliberations.

Jurors had earlier indicated they had reached a verdict, but later sent a note saying they were unable to agree unanimously, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. “The jury in the Jonathan Rinderknecht trial sent a subsequent note saying they are deadlocked. The trial continues,” the department said.

The panel told U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang that jurors on both sides “are unwilling to change their opinion” and that they are “at a standstill,” NBC News reported. The judge sent jurors home and instructed them to return Friday at 9 a.m.

Rinderknecht, 30, a Florida resident and former Uber driver, has pleaded not guilty to three federal charges: destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum of 45 years if convicted.

Prosecutors say Rinderknecht maliciously started the Lachman Fire early on Jan. 1, 2025, in heavy vegetation near the Pacific Palisades community of Los Angeles, after finishing a shift as an Uber driver. Federal authorities say the later Palisades Fire was a “holdover” fire — a continuation of the Lachman Fire that firefighters suppressed but that continued to smolder and burn underground before flaring days later.

The Palisades Fire burned more than 23,000 acres in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains. Cal Fire said 12 people were killed and more than 6,800 structures were destroyed. The fire, fueled by dangerous winds and hot conditions, was fully contained Jan. 31, 24 days after it began.

In closing arguments, prosecutor Danbee C. Kim said Rinderknecht deliberately set the initial blaze. “On Jan. 1, 2025, Jonathan Rinderknecht started a fire on a hill in the Pacific Palisades,” Kim said, according to NBC News. “He was angry all the time. He believed he was enslaved by the wealthy. He didn’t understand why the ‘rich losers’ and the ‘motherf—– at the top’ had it all.”

Prosecutors used security video, cellphone data and Rinderknecht’s digital trail, including questions to ChatGPT about whether cigarettes can start wildfires, to place him at the ignition point shortly before the Lachman Fire was reported, NBC News reported. The Justice Department said Rinderknecht lied to investigators on Jan. 24 about where he was when he first saw the fire, and that phone geolocation data showed he was about 30 feet from the flames as they began to spread.

The defense argues Rinderknecht was a witness, not an arsonist. “No matter what the government’s theory is, the evidence will show Jonathan did not start the Jan. 1 fire,” defense attorney Steve Haney said, noting that Rinderknecht called 911 multiple times after seeing the brushfire.

Haney told jurors the case turned on proof, not character. “This case is not about whether fire happened. It’s about cause and integrity,” he said. “You might not like Jonathan at the end of this trial, but that doesn’t mean he’s guilty. You’re not to convict a man if you don’t like him.”

Haney argued there was no physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the blaze, that no accelerants were found and that no witnesses saw the fire begin. He also contended fireworks may have started the Lachman Fire and said multiple witnesses testified the Lachman and Palisades fires were separate fires. Prosecutors said expert testimony contradicted that defense.

On Thursday, Haney requested an Allen charge, a set of instructions meant to encourage a deadlocked jury to reach a unanimous verdict and avoid a mistrial.