"Witnesses reported that Rinderknecht had been driving erratically while on Uber routes around the Palisades on New Year's Eve, describing him as 'angry, intense, driving erratically, and ranting about being 'pissed off at the world.''"
"In an interview with investigators, Rinderknecht stated that someone might commit arson out of 'resentment of the rich enjoying their money as 'we're basically being enslaved by them.''"
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is accused of igniting the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, which resulted in 12 fatalities. Prosecutors allege he started a fire on January 1, 2025, that smoldered undetected before erupting a week later. Witnesses reported erratic driving and rants about anger towards the world on New Year's Eve. Rinderknecht's defense claims he is a scapegoat for the fire department's failures. His trial is scheduled for June 8, 2025, as he continues to plead not guilty to the charges.
Read at Fortune
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