“Today we are announcing the arrest of 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht on a criminal complaint charging him with maliciously starting what became the Palisades Fire in January,” noted Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in an X post.

“The complaint alleges that Rinderknecht started a fire in Pacific Palisades on New Year’s Day — a blaze that eventually turned into one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history, causing death and widespread destruction. Among the evidence that was collected from his digital devices was an image he generated on ChatGPT depicting a burning city,” Essayli noted further.

The fire scorched nearly 23,000 acres. Fire crews spent more than three weeks trying to extinguish the blazes.

“While we cannot undo the damage and destruction that was done, we hope his arrest and the charges against him bring some measure of justice to the victims of this horrific tragedy,” Essayli added.

Investigators determined that the Palisades Fire began along a popular hiking trail in a state park overlooking the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, officials said

According to the criminal complaint, Rinderknecht allegedly recorded video footage on his phone after arriving at the hiking trail. Investigators say he was listening to the rap song “Un Zder, Un The” by French artist Josman, whose accompanying music video depicts a series of fires being set.

Court filings indicate that Google records show Rinderknecht, who was born in France, had listened to the song nine times and viewed the music video four times in the days leading up to the blaze.

Translated lyrics from the French song include, “Daily life is killing me,” “I feel like I’m nowhere,” and “too much bitterness in my head, I think about the mistakes we made.”

In the 2018 music video, Josman is depicted smoking a blunt in his kitchen before a fire erupts and spreads throughout the apartment.

Later scenes show the rapper igniting a burning barrel outside a housing complex, which quickly grows into a large inferno. In the video’s closing moments, Josman is seen walking while holding a handful of burning banknotes, according to the New York Post

The blaze broke out around the same time as the separate Eaton Fire, which killed 19 people. Authorities have not yet identified a cause for that fire, The Post reported.

Investigators believe Rinderknecht remained at the scene for about a minute, watching the flames spread before fleeing down the hiking trail. According to court documents, he then recorded a three-minute video in which he appeared to make multiple attempts to call 911 to report the fire.

As he spoke to dispatchers, he typed “Are you at fault if a fire is lift [sic] because of your cigarettes” into ChatGPT, which was also captured as part of a screen recording, the criminal complaint says.

Rinderknecht allegedly left the area after starting the fire but later turned his vehicle around to follow fire trucks back to the scene. Once there, he reportedly watched as firefighters worked to contain the blaze and recorded several videos of the response efforts, the complaint says.

Both wildfires devastated communities across Southern California, leaving widespread destruction, loss, and lingering questions about fire prevention and response efforts.

Rinderknecht was arrested in Florida and is expected to be extradited to California, where he will face charges related to the Palisades Fire — the deadliest wildfire in Los Angeles history.