ORLANDO, Fla. -- A federal judge in Florida ordered the man charged in a deadly California fire to remain jailed Thursday after a prosecutor said he had traits of an arsonist and his family had worried about his declining mental state.
In ordering Jonathan Rinderknecht to be kept in detention, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathan Hill said he had concerns about the suspect's mental health and his ability to get to California for future court hearings.
Federal officials have said Rinderknecht, who lived in Southern California at the time, started a small fire on New Year's Day that smoldered underground before reigniting nearly a week later on Jan. 7 and roaring through coastal Pacific Palisades and Malibu.
The fire that left 12 dead in hillside neighborhoods was one of two huge blazes that broke out that day. They killed more than 30 people in all and destroyed over 17,000 homes and buildings in Los Angeles County.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Lyons said during Thursday's hearing in federal court in Orlando that Rinderknecht was a flight risk because he had family in France and spoke French.
Shackled and wearing a red jail uniform, Rinderknecht listened attentively as an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives recounted the family's concerns about the man's mental health.
ATF special agent Thomas Harrison testified that Rinderknecht moved into the Florida home of his sister and brother-in-law in Brevard County five months ago. But they have since moved out and started eviction proceeding against him out of fear for their safety. Rinderknecht threatened to burn their house down during an argument, prompting a call to the police, Harrison said. His father again called police after Rinderknecht said he had a gun he would use in self-defense, Harrison said.
No arrest was made or charges filed in either police call.
The prosecutor added that Rinderknecht had become a loner with "a despondent view of the world," and spent a lot of time on ChatGPT, living paycheck to paycheck as an Uber driver, Lyons said.
In arguing that her client should be released under strict conditions, Assistant Federal Defender Aziza Hawthorne noted that officers never asked Rinderknecht's sister if she thought his threat was credible. The public defender also said there were never any claims of physical violence and Rinderknecht had been seeing a psychiatrist recently.
Rinderknecht was not a flight risk, she said, and his family was supporting him during the criminal proceedings.
"He is not a risk to anyone," Hawthorne said.
After the hearing, outside the courtroom, one of his sisters comforted the other as she cried. None of the family members wanted to talk to reporters.
Rinderknecht was expected to remain in the Seminole County jail until a hearing set for Oct. 17, when prosecutors are to present the evidence they have to charge him.
Rinderknecht was arrested Tuesday but he was first interviewed by authorities on Jan. 24. Investigators said during the intervening months they worked to rule out other potential causes for the first fire's ignition, such as fireworks or lightning strikes. All the while they were combing through the suspect's phone to track his whereabouts on the day it began.
Information for this article was contributed by Jaimie Ding of The Associated Press.
This undated photo provided by the US Attorney's Office shows Jonathan Rinderknecht, a suspect in the Palisades Fire. (US Attorney's Office via AP)Siblings of a suspect charged in California's deadly Palisades fire walk outside of a federal courthouse in Orlando, Fla. after their brother, Jonathan Rinderknecht, was ordered to remain in jail during a detention hearing on Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Schneider)FILE - The devastation of the Palisades Fire is seen at sunset in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, file)Special Agent in Charge Kenny Cooper, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Los Angeles Field Division, second from right, speaks between Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, second from left, and Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell, right, during a news conference announcing an arrest made in the Palisades Fire, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)