Judge declares mistrial in arson case against man accused of sparking Palisades Fire

A federal judge declared a mistrial in the arson case against the 29-year-old man accused of sparking the deadly 2025 Palisades fire in Los Angeles, after the jury said it could not agree on a verdict. Jurors deliberated for over 13 hours on Thursday on whether to convict Jonathan Rinderknecht on three federal charges, before announcing that they were deadlocked. “The court finds there is a manifest necessity to declare a mistrial because the jury is deadlocked,” Judge Anne Hwang said on Friday, with 10 jurors set on a not-guilty verdict and two others determined to convict. “We have people on both sides that are dead set, unwavering and unwilling to change their opinion,” a note from the jury read by the judge said. The Palisades fire scorched more than 23,000 acres in the affluent Palisades enclave last January, damaging more than 6,000 buildings and killing 12 people. The catastrophe thrust Los Angeles into the national eye, as images circulated of amber skies and mansions reduced to charred rubble. Upon arresting Rinderknecht last year, law enforcement officials alleged the fire was a continuation of a brush fire lit by the former Uber driver on New Year’s Day 2025. Firefighters worked to suppress that smaller blaze, known as the Lachman fire, but its embers smoldered underground before resurfacing due to heavy winds, according to officials. Rinderknecht was charged with three federal charges: arson, malicious destruction by means of a fire and timber set aflame. …