Federal judge Anne Hwang declared a mistrial on June 26, 2026, in the arson case against Jonathan Rinderknecht after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. The jury split 10 to 2 in favor of not guilty, but remained deadlocked despite deliberations. Judge Hwang said, "The court finds there is a manifest necessity to declare a mistrial because the jury is deadlocked" [1, 2].
Rinderknecht, a former Uber driver aged 29 or 30, faced three federal charges related to the Palisades Fire, including arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, malicious destruction of property by fire, and setting timber afire [1, 3, 4, 2]. Prosecutors alleged he intentionally started the fire on January 1, 2025. They said he was driven by anger, loneliness, and a desire for societal revenge tied to grievances like wealth inequality [1, 4, 2]. Behavioral analyst Kevin Kelm testified that Rinderknecht was fixated on Luigi Mangione, linked to a prior murder case, as a motivating factor [2].
The Palisades Fire began as the Lachman Fire on January 1, 2025, on a hiking trail near Skull Rock in Pacific Palisades. It was later fanned into a massive wildfire on January 7 by Santa Ana winds rekindling underground embers [1, 3, 4]. The fire burned over 23,000 acres, destroyed between 6,000 and 6,800 buildings, and killed 12 people [1, 3, 2]. Estimated property damages ranged between $35 billion and $45 billion [2].
In court, defense attorney Steve Haney argued the case did not prove Rinderknecht’s responsibility. He said, "This case is not about whether fire happened. It's about cause and integrity." The defense suggested fireworks might have triggered the initial blaze and said no physical evidence linked Rinderknecht to the fire [1, 3, 4].
The jury reported an initial verdict but then said it was deadlocked on June 25, citing entrenched opinions on both sides. "We have people on both sides that are dead set, unwavering and unwilling to change their opinion," the jury said [1].
Rinderknecht pleaded not guilty and faced up to 45 years in prison if convicted [3, 4, 2]. United States Attorney Bill Essayli said the government plans to retry the case, stating, "The evidence is strong that Jonathan Rinderknecht is responsible for igniting the fire on January 1, 2025... We fully intend to retry this case before a new jury and obtain guilty verdicts on all charged counts." [2]
Rinderknecht was arrested and charged in October 2025 [2]. The mistrial means the federal government will need to decide whether to bring the charges before another jury.
