Trial starts for man accused of starting what became the Palisades Fire

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Trial starts for man accused of starting what became the Palisades Fire Attorneys gave opening statements in the trial of the man accused of sparking the Palisades Fire.

+ National Trial starts for man accused of starting what became the Palisades Fire June 10, 20265:25 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered By Steve Futterman Trial starts for man accused of starting what became the Palisades Fire Listen &middot; 3:51 3:51 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5847912/nx-s1-9805468" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Attorneys gave opening statements in the trial of the man accused of sparking the Palisades Fire. The January 2025 fire was among the most destructive in California history. Sponsor Message AILSA CHANG, HOST: This week marked the start of the federal arson trial for the man who's accused of starting what ultimately became the Palisades Fire in January 2025. That fire killed 12 people and destroyed almost 7,000 structures here in Los Angeles. Steve Futterman was in court today for opening statements. He joins us now from outside the federal courthouse in downtown LA. Hi, Steve.

+ STEVE FUTTERMAN, BYLINE: Great to be with you, Ailsa. CHANG: Great to have you. I mean, I feel like these fires were just yesterday. Like, my memories are still so vivid of how scary this all was. Can you just take everyone else back to what happened last year? FUTTERMAN: Well, this all took place in January of last year. The Palisades Fire turned out to be one of the most destructive fires in California history. It was one of two major fires at the time. The Eaton Fire in the Altadena area was the other. Both were fueled by dry conditions and those Santa Ana winds. And just to give you a sense of where this destructive Palisades Fire took place - Pacific Palisades - it's a beautiful neighborhood above the Pacific Ocean with majestic views. It's a really desirable place to live - lots of expensive houses, and, of course, scores of those homes were damaged and destroyed. CHANG: So devastating. OK. So both the defense and the prosecution made opening statements today. Let's start with what did prosecutors say. FUTTERMAN: Well, it's a bit complicated. Defendant Jonathan Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty, but prosecutors say he intentionally started a fire just after midnight on January 1. Firefighters were able to put out the flames, but they continued to burn underground, and six days later, on January 7, it resurfaced as the Palisades Fire. The chief prosecutor, Mark Williams, tried to portray Rinderknecht as angry, agitated, alone with no real friends, upset with the world. He said the defendant had been working on New Year's Eve as an Uber driver and was upset that he had not been invited to any parties. He suggested that Rinderknecht was obsessed with fires, that he had been listening to a French rap song featuring a person singing about lighting things on fire and of despair. Shortly after the start of the fire on January 1, Rinderknecht asked ChatGPT if you could be at fault if a fire is lit because of your cigarettes. And finally, jurors were shown cellphone location data and some security camera pictures placing Rinderknecht in the exact area where the January 1 fire started. The prosecution told jurors he was the only person there at the time. CHANG: OK. And how did the defense lay out their side of the case? FUTTERMAN: Well, defense attorney Steve Haney basic contention is that the January 1 fire was not started by Rinderknecht. It was started by errant New Year's Eve fireworks. Haney says the initial analysis by fire experts agreed with that. Of course, it later changed. But Haney says the first analysis was right. He made it very clear from the start that he agrees with the prosecution that Rinderknecht was in the area where the fire was set, but he says there was an innocent reason for that - to simply see the fireworks. He also pointed to a 911 call that Rinderknecht made minutes after the fire began. The prosecution claims that was the defendant trying to set up an alibi. Haney says that's the voice of a man trying to stop a fire. And the defense also raised questions about how law enforcement maintained the area around the January 1 fire immediately afterwards. CHANG: OK. So what comes next? Give us a preview. What can we expect to hear? FUTTERMAN: Yeah. The trial is expected to last two to three weeks. Witnesses will include members of the fire department, forensic specialists. And if found guilty, Rinderknecht faces up to 45 years in prison. CHANG: That is Steve Futterman in Los Angeles. Thank you so much, Steve. FUTTERMAN: Thank you, Ailsa. (SOUNDBITE OF CURTIS MAYFIELD'S "THINK") Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{309:function(e,n,o){o.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([o.e(1),o.e(2),o.e(3),o.e(4),o.e(81)]).then((e=>{o(15),o(770),o(154),o(175),o(93),o(448),o(253),o(128),o(130),o(755),o(174),o(756),o(254),o(77),o(774)}).bind(null,o)).catch(o.oe)},783:function(e,n,o){e.exports=o(309)}},[[783,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();