The Pacific Palisades fire caused widespread destruction in Los Angeles County and led to federal charges against a suspect. According to a federal affidavit, Jonathan Rinderknecht listened to the French song “Un Zder, Un Thé” on YouTube before the blaze; the filing says the lyrics/video include themes of “despair and bitterness.”
The federal affidavit says Rinderknecht is also known as “Jonathan Rinder” and “Jon Rinder.”
He is accused of having “maliciously damaged and destroyed, by means of fire, specifically, the fire known as the Lachman Fire and Palisades Fire,” various buildings and personal property.
The federal documents get into some of his alleged social media history, specifically the French song he is accused of listening to on YouTube.
"At approximately 11:28 p.m., Rinderknecht used his iPhone to access YouTube to listen to the song entitled 'Un Zder, Un The,' by the French artist Josman. I have reviewed an English translation of the French lyrics for the song, and a theme of the song is despair and bitterness," the federal affidavit says.
Read the full lyrics in English here.
"During his interview on January 24, 2025, Rinderknecht admitted he was fluent in French; he grew up in France. Google records indicate that Rinderknecht had listened to the same song nine times in the previous four days," the court documents say. "The music video for the song shows the main character (Josman) lighting things on fire. Google records indicate that Rinderknecht had watched the music video three times in the previous four days."
The documents say he allegedly went to an area called the “Hidden Buddha” because "it had a short, hollowed out remnant/stump from a wooden utility pole where people sometimes placed small Buddha figurines."
He's accused of taking two videos from the spot with his iPhone that did not show any fire. He then used his phone to listen to the song on YouTube again, the court documents say. The glow of a fire was seen shortly thereafter, and he tried unsuccessfully to call 911, the documents say.
Rinderknecht is accused of typing "a question into the ChatGPT app on his iPhone, asking, 'Are you at fault if a fire is lift [sic] because of your cigarettes.' ChatGPT’s response was 'Yes,'" the affidavit says. But it adds that smoking was later "excluded as a cause," and evidence pointed to alleged "intentional ignition."
The documents add that, in 2024, the suspect asked the following prompt to ChatGPT: “I am 28 years old. And... I basically... This just happened. Maybe like... I don’t know, maybe like 3 months ago or something. Like, the realization of all this. I literally burnt the Bible that I had. It felt amazing. I felt so liberated.”
He is accused of also writing to ChatGPT: “A dystopian painting divided into distinct parts that blend together seamlessly. On the far left, there is a burning forest. Next to it, a crowd of people is running away from the fire, leading to the middle. In the middle, hundreds of thousands of people in poverty are trying to get past a gigantic gate with a big dollar sign on it. On the other side of the gate and the entire wall is a conglomerate of the richest people. They are chilling, watching the world burn down, and watching the people struggle. They are laughing, enjoying themselves, and dancing. The scene is detailed and impactful."
According to The Los Angeles Times, Rinderknecht is the son of missionaries. Federal Election Commission files show he gave $2 to ActBlue earmarked for Joe Biden's campaign. According to The New York Post, he "was registered to vote in Florida, though he never declared a political party." Social media accounts attributed to Rinderknecht online have not been authenticated.
"A multi-agency investigation into the origin and cause of the massive Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, California, on January 7, 2025, has determined that it was a 'holdover' fire, i.e., a continuation of the Lachman Fire that began nearby early in the morning on January 1, 2025," the federal documents say. He then drove back to the scene and offered to help fight the fire, they add.
“There is probable cause to conclude that Rinderknecht maliciously set the Lachman Fire just after midnight on January 1, 2025. He started the fire on land owned by the Mountain Recreation and Conservation Authority," the documents allege.
According to the documents, Rinderknecht was working as an Uber driver on the evening of December 31, 2024, when two passengers told authorities that they remembered that Rinderknecht allegedly "appeared agitated and angry."