Mistrial declared in case against Palisades Fire arson suspect, Justice Department says

A judge has declared a mistrial in the trial against Jonathan Rinderknecht, the man accused of starting a blaze that erupted into the deadly and destructive Palisades fire in 2025.

The U.S. Department of Justice said after the jury returned to court for deliberations on Friday morning, the judge determined a deadlock could not be broken and declared a mistrial. 

"The court finds there is a manifest necessity to declare a mistrial because the jury is deadlocked," Judge Anne Hwang said, with 10 jurors set on a not-guilty verdict and two others determined to convict.  

Rinderknecht was charged with one count of destruction of property by means of fire, one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, and one count of timber set afire.  

Defense attorney Steve Haney said the vote count was a "pretty resounding indication" that his client is innocent. He added that Rinderknecht was in good spirits and was encouraged by the jury's vote and accused prosecutors of "character assassination." 

Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said his office fully intends to retry the case before a new jury. 

"The evidence is strong that Jonathan Rinderknecht is responsible for igniting the fire on January 1, 2025, which eventually became the Palisades fire," Essayli said in a post on X. 

Juror No. 4 told reporters she voted not guilty because she felt there was not enough proof. She added that she thinks a retrial is a waste of American dollars. 

"They need a scapegoat, and they need somebody to blame and they picked on the convenient loner Uber driver," Honey said. 

Mayor Karen Bass said from the start she has called for transparency and she will always stands with the Palisades community. 

"Today's news resurfaces so much pain and trauma for the thousands of survivors still working to rebuild their lives," Bass said in a statement. 

On Thursday, after the jury notified the court that they had reached a verdict, a note was sent to the judge saying they were unable to reach a unanimous decision, according to the DOJ.

The jury's note Thursday said "We have people on both sides that are dead set, unwavering and unwilling to change their opinion."  

The judge ordered Rinderknecht to remain in custody, citing that he is a flight risk and also a risk to the community. A status hearing has been scheduled for July 15. A tentative retrial date has been set for Oct. 19. 

Case against Rinderknecht

The case against Rinderknecht argued that he maliciously started a fire near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles the morning of Jan. 1, 2025. That fire eventually developed into what became the deadly Palisades Fire.

The DOJ said that through their investigation, law enforcement agencies determined that the Palisades Fire was a "holdover" fire and was a continuation of the Lachman Fire, which sparked the morning of Dec. 31, 2024. Firefighters responded to the fire and were able to suppress it, but it continued to smolder and burn underground.

Rinderknecht, 29, a Florida resident, had picked up a shift as an Uber driver during the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2025, when prosecutors allege he started the Lachman Fire. The blaze burned an area of the hills in the Palisades that was covered with heavy vegetation.

Prosecutors said Rinderknecht called 911 multiple times and initially fled the scene but returned to the area after seeing fire engines pass by.

Rinderknecht's defense has maintained the argument that he was simply a witness to the fire.

"No matter what the government's theory is, the evidence will show Jonathan did not start the Jan. 1 fire," Defense attorney Steve Haney said, noting that when Rinderknecht saw the brushfire just after midnight, he called 911 multiple times to report it.

The DOJ said during an interview with law enforcement on Jan. 24, 2025, Rinderknecht allegedly lied about where he was when he first saw the Lachman Fire. Geolocation data from his phone confirmed that he was just 30 feet away from the flames as they began to spread, prosecutors said.

They also argued that Rinderknecht was agitated and angry when he started the fire.

The Palisades Fire, fueled by life-threatening winds and hot conditions, burned more than 23,000 acres of land in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu and the Santa Monica mountains. According to Cal Fire, 12 people were killed and more than 6,800 structures were destroyed.

The Palisades Fire was fully contained on Jan. 31, 24 days after it started. It is the third most destructive fire in state history.

Pacific Palisades residents react to verdict

Much like the jury, residents living in the Pacific Palisades were split on Friday's decision. Many think that the answer is clear based on the result of the months-long investigation. 

"They did months and months of investigating how this thing started, who was responsible. Had that fire not happened on New Year's Eve, or January 1, and the embers were not suppressed and the fire was not properly put out and then the winds kicked up, there was no way we would have had the January 7 fire," said Kimberly Bloom.

Others disagree with that line of thinking. 

"The reason that our town has been wiped off the map is not because of an individual starting a fire or not," said Michelle Murphy. "It's about the way the city of LA handled it, and had knowledge of it, and didn't do anything to stop it, prevent it."

Some turned to blame towards what they believed to be a failure on the part of city leaders and local first responders.

"This fire should've been put out on January 2, so my focus is more on the failures that occurred by other people other than this guy," said Joseph Iacopino, speaking about Rinderknecht.

Bud Chancellor, who lives in the area and fought the flames burning close to his home last year, said that despite having driven through the area hundreds of times its still an unbelievable sight. He said that the events of the trial haven't changed much. 

"I don't think what's happened in the last day or two has dramatically affected anything," Chancellor said. "While it would be good to find out how it started and get a resolution or closure on that, the bigger issue is the lack of response to the fire. ... I think we're all waiting to see what happens with the accountability on the response to the fire."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.