A mistrial was declared by a federal judge in the case against the man accused of intentionally starting the Palisades Fire, as jurors could not reach a unanimous decision.
Arrested in October 2025, Jonathan Rinderknecht faced charges of property destruction by fire and pleaded not guilty relating to the Palisades Fire in January 2025. The jury in California largely leaned towards not guilty, with ten jurors supporting acquittal and two dissenting.
United States Attorney Bill Essayli expressed confidence in the evidence against Jonathan Rinderknecht, asserting his responsibility for igniting the January 1, 2025 fire that escalated into the Palisades Fire. In a statement on X, Essayli confirmed plans for a retrial to pursue guilty verdicts on all charges.
On Thursday afternoon, the jurors initially announced they had reached a decision, but returned 30 minutes later admitting they were unable to conclude with a verdict.
A firefighter is seen battling the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, Los Angeles, on January 11, 2025. At right, Jonathan Rinderknecht, who faces charges connected to the fire, is pictured. (Jae C. Hong/AP; Department of Justice/Reuters)
“Would an additional instruction or the re-reading of any testimony help the jury in their deliberations?” the judge asked.
“There is nothing the court can do to assist the jury in their deliberations. Additional instructions or rereading the testimony would not help in deliberations. Unfortunately, we cannot reach a unanimous verdict,” the jury replied.
In total, estimates say the fire caused $35 billion and $45 billion in damage and led to the deaths of 12 people.
During the trial, behavioral analyst Kevin Kelm testified he believes Rinderknecht’s behavior is similar to someone who is driven by “societal revenge.”
Kelm said that in cases of societal revenge, the suspect typically focuses on personal problems such as finance, relationships, work, lifestyle or anything they’re not capable of dealing with on a daily basis. He said Rinderknecht’s use of ChatGPT was to make a “dystopian image” of the world, where he designed an image representing a barrier between rich people and other individuals who don’t have as much money.
Rinderknecht was partly inspired by Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, prosecutors say.
Jonathan Rinderknecht appears in federal court in Orlando, Florida, on Oct. 9, 2025. He faces charges for allegedly starting a New Year’s Day fire that killed 12 people in Pacific Palisades, California. (Neftali Melendez)
“In the months leading up to the fire, he had become increasingly angry with his life and society at large,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing. “For example, in the weeks and hours leading up to the fire, defendant fixated on Luigi Mangione, who allegedly murdered the UnitedHealthcare CEO in New York City on December 4, 2024.”
Rinderknecht searched the terms “free LuigiMangione,” “lets take down all the billionaires” and “reddit lets kill all the billionaires” on Dec. 12 and 13, 2024, federal prosecutors said.
Luigi Mangione appears at a pretrial hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on June 17, 2026. (Pool via Barry Williams for New York Daily News)
“When investigators asked defendant why someone might commit arson in the Pacific Palisades, he responded that it would be out of resentment of the rich enjoying their money as ‘we’re basically being enslaved by them’ and compared such an act of ‘desperation’ to the murder for which Mangione was charged,” prosecutors wrote.
Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, told News Media in a statement: “As we have stated before in multiple public court filings, Mr. Mangione does not support violent actions and does not condone past or future political violence. These repeated attempts to connect him to unrelated acts or to insinuate that he condones or supports these acts are irresponsible, dangerous and prejudicial.”