The man accused of starting the deadly Palisades fire returned to California Thursday for his first appearance in federal court in downtown Los Angeles.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was charged with destruction of property by fire; one count of arson affecting property in interstate commerce; and a load of lumber that was set on fire, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was ordered to remain in custody.
Lindknecht appeared before District Judge Rozella A. Oliver in a beige jail jumpsuit, appearing agitated and holding his hands behind his back.
At one point, he interrupted proceedings and said, “Can I mention something about detention?” before his attorney, Steve Haney, interrupted.
Haney asked for a break and they walked out of the courtroom for about five minutes.
“Obviously he was frustrated,” Haney later told reporters about his client’s outburst in court. “He was a frustrated young man who was detained.”
Haney said the federal government is using his client as a “scapegoat.”
Lindeknecht, who lives in Los Angeles, allegedly set a fire — known as the Lachman Fire — in Temescal Canyon on New Year’s Day, according to federal prosecutors. Investigators said he was working as an Uber driver in the area and dropping off passengers near the area where he previously lived.
Authorities say he maliciously started the Lachman Fire near Skull Rock just after midnight. Prosecutors cited witness statements, video surveillance, Lindknecht’s cellphone data and an analysis of where the fire started.
Investigators also found artificial intelligence-generated images of burning cities on Rinderknecht’s iPhone, said Bill Essayli, the acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.
Environmental sensors first detected the Lachman Fire at 12:12 a.m. on January 1. Prosecutors said phone records showed Rinderknecht made multiple calls to 911 within five minutes of the first signs of a fire, but was unable to get through. Around that time, a resident reported the fire to authorities.
Prosecutors said Lindknecht then approached firefighters and tried to help them put out the blaze. He later told investigators he saw the fire from the bottom of a trail, but his iPhone data showed he was standing about 30 feet away from the fire as it spread, according to court records.
Crews initially thought they had the Lachman Fire under control, but federal prosecutors said it erupted again days later and became the Palisades Fire.
That fire ultimately burned 23,400 acres and destroyed more than 6,800 structures. The fire swept through Pacific Palisade, killing twelve people.
Haney insists the Rahman fire was not started by his client.
“There has to be a connection between the two,” he said.
The son of a Baptist preacher, Lindknecht spent much of his childhood traveling around the United States with his family. His parents live in France, and prosecutors claimed that Lindknecht was a flight risk because his family lived overseas.
He previously lived in Pacific Palisades, but he was living in Hollywood at the time of the Rahman fire, according to prosecutors.
Federal agents arrested Lindeknecht on Oct. 7 at a home outside Orlando, Florida, where he was staying with his family. He has been detained ever since.
A jury trial is scheduled for Dec. 16, and Haney said he expected his client would try to post bail again.
