A man linked to igniting the New Year’s Day blaze, which contributed to the devastating Palisades wildfire, is said to have exuded “incel energy,” as described by a passenger who once took a ride with him in an Uber.
Jonathan Rinderknecht was taken into custody in October 2025 and is facing charges of property destruction by fire. He has entered a plea of not guilty in relation to the Palisades Fire incident from January 2025 and is currently on trial in California. During a testimony on Friday, Brennan White, a Los Angeles resident, recounted his New Year’s Day Uber ride with Rinderknecht. White noted that the suspect exuded what he referred to as “incel energy.”
According to White, Rinderknecht drove unpredictably and continuously ranted about societal decline, expressing a belief that there were no decent women in the area.
The witness informed the Los Angeles Police Department that Rinderknecht emitted “incel energy,” a term commonly used to describe someone who is notably solitary or socially withdrawn.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, aged 29, stands accused of setting off the fire that escalated into the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles.
White, who was drinking that night, said he made small talk with Rinderknecht for the first three to five minutes of the ride, then the driver started ranting. He said that Rinderknecht was violent with his words but didn’t ask to be let out of the Uber because he felt it was better not to say anything.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told News Media this may be one of the most “memorable” moments of Rinderknecht’s trial and added that prosecutors had a specific reason for calling White to testify.
“An incel is someone that is unable to have or maintain a relationship and is celibate involuntarily. So someone that is a loner, someone who is strange, someone like that is more likely to be an arsonist, is more likely to be a mass shooter. So by painting him in this way, I think it does help the prosecution’s case,” Rahmani said. “The question is, is this unfair character assassination? Because Rinderknecht isn’t charged with being a strange guy, he’s charged with an arsonist. And potentially this gives the defense another argument on appeal if their client is convicted.”
Fire personnel respond to homes destroyed while a helicopter drops water as the Palisades Fire grows in Pacific Palisades, Calif., on Jan. 7, 2025. (David Swanson/AFP/Getty Images)
In a trial memorandum filed in April, prosecutors said Rinderknecht was apparently obsessed with Luigi Mangione, who is accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
“In the months leading up to the fire, he had become increasingly angry with his life and society at large,” prosecutors wrote. “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.
“Many of defendant’s Uber passengers on December 31, 2024 and January 1, 2025, described defendant as angry, intense, driving erratically, and ranting about being ‘pissed off at the world’ and Luigi Mangione, capitalism, and vigilantism,” prosecutors added in the court filing.
When investigators asked Rinderknecht on Jan. 24, 2025, why someone might commit arson in the Pacific Palisades, he allegedly responded it would be out of resentment and invoked Mangione.
“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.
Luigi Mangione appears at an evidence suppression hearing at the Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City on May 18, 2026. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)
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.”
Lena Weissbrot, who considers herself a supporter of Mangione, addressed the connection while speaking to News Media on Tuesday outside of a scheduled court hearing for the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO killer.
“I don’t think we can blame these things on Luigi, I think it’s that we have so much wealth inequality in America, that eventually it’s going to boil over, and I think that Luigi was just a temperature check for like…It sort of allowed people a vessel for all of the rage that’s been boiling under the surface here,” she said.
Weissbrot did add she could “never support” the person who started the Palisades Fire, stating she’s from Los Angeles.
Rinderknecht is charged with destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire. News Media reached out to his lawyers for comment.
