A federal jury says it's deadlocked in the arson trial of the man accused of igniting the Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed nearly 7,000 structures — and the thousands who lost everything are left waiting on a system that can't deliver accountability either way.
U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang ordered jurors back to deliberations Friday rather than declare a mistrial, after the panel reported Thursday it was "at a standstill" and members on both sides "are unwilling to change their opinion," according to NBC News. ABC7 Los Angeles reported the jury had previously indicated it reached a verdict before telling the court it was deadlocked.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a dual French and U.S. citizen and former Uber driver, faces three federal arson counts carrying up to 45 years in prison. Prosecutors say he intentionally started the Lachman Fire around midnight on New Year's Eve in a remote area near the Pacific Palisades' Summit neighborhood — a fire they claim smoldered underground in root systems for six days before erupting into the catastrophic Palisades Fire on January 7, 2025, fueled by Santa Ana winds.
The government's case relies on surveillance footage, cellphone data, and Rinderknecht's own digital trail — including ChatGPT searches asking whether a cigarette could spark a wildfire, according to Breitbart. Prosecutors painted Rinderknecht as an angry man consumed by bitterness toward the wealthy. "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," prosecutor Danbee Kim told jurors. ABC7 framed his motive as being "driven by revenge, anger and loneliness" and noted prosecutors said he held "a deeply entrenched belief that the wealthy were destroying the world."
The defense says the government has the wrong guy. Attorney Steve Haney argued investigators found no physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the scene and that the Lachman and Palisades fires were separate incidents. A defense witness testified to hearing an explosion and seeing four men leave the area. Haney highlighted that Rinderknecht called 911 multiple times and never fled — behavior, he said, of a concerned bystander, not an arsonist. He also argued fireworks, not his client, ignited the blaze.
"You might not like Jonathan at the end of this trial, but that doesn't mean he's guilty," Haney told jurors, according to NBC. He argued Rinderknecht was being scapegoated for the city's failure to protect Pacific Palisades — a line NBC reported but that ABC7 and Breitbart omitted.
Hwang denied Haney's motion to dismiss after prosecutors presented expert testimony supporting the theory that the Palisades Fire originated from the earlier Lachman Fire. Haney pressed for an Allen charge — a formal instruction urging the deadlocked jury to keep trying — rather than an immediate mistrial, Breitbart reported.
The Palisades Fire was the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history, burning 23,448 acres and leveling much of the Pacific Palisades community. Whether Rinderknecht started it or not, 12 people are dead and thousands of homes are ash. A jury that can't agree means no closure for anyone — and a system that asks victims to keep waiting while it sorts itself out.
