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Palisades Fire suspect arrested in Florida By Joe Taglieri
Trump’s Education Department is working to erode the public school system — ProPublica
joet@beaconmedianews.com
By Megan O’Matz and Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica
A
uthorities in Florida arrested a 29-yearold former Pacific Palisades resident Tuesday for allegedly starting the Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in January. Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, appeared Wednesday in federal court in Florida. At another hearing Thursday he was ordered to remain in custody in Florida after a federal agent told a judge the man threatened to burn down his sister’s home last month. “The complaint alleges that a single person’s recklessness caused one of the worst fires Los Angeles has ever seen, resulting in death and widespread destruction in Pacific Palisades,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “While we cannot bring back what victims lost, we hope this criminal case brings some measure of justice to those affected by this horrific tragedy.” Rinderknecht, who resides in Melbourne, Florida, was working as an Uber driver and after dropping off passengers in the area allegedly sparked a fire in the Palisades around midnight New Year’s Day, prosecutors contend. Rinderknecht once lived in the neighborhood and drove toward Skull Rock Trailhead, where he parked his car, attempted to contact a former friend, then walked up the trail to an area known as the Hidden Buddha clearing, according to court documents. He used his iPhone to take videos at a nearby hilltop area and played a French rap song, “Un Zder, Un The.” In previous days Rinderknecht allegedly had listened to the song multiple times, and its music video includes images of the artist Josman setting fires, prosecutors allege.
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E Among the evidence that was collected from the Palisades Fire suspect’s digital devices was an image he generated on ChatGPT showing a burning city. | Photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office
Using witness statements, video surveillance, cell data and analysis of fire dynamics and patterns at the scene, investigators determined Rinderknecht used an “open flame” to start the hilltop blaze initially dubbed the Lachman Fire, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Firefighters believed the Lachman Fire had been fully extinguished, but it smoldered undetected for a week. Extremely fast winds on Jan. 7 caused the underground blaze to return to the surface and spread into what became known as the Palisades Fire. “Although firefighters suppressed the blaze, the fire continued to smolder and burn underground within the root structure of the dense vegetation,” Essayli told reporters Wednesday. “It smoldered underground for about a week until on Jan. 7, heavy winds caused this underground fire to surface and spread above ground, causing what became known as the Palisades Fire — one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history.” Rinderknecht is charged
in Los Angeles federal court with destruction of property by means of fire. The case will be presented to a grand jury in downtown LA with additional charges likely forthcoming, prosecutors said. A ChatGPT log associated with Rinderknecht indicates he created a series of images depicting a burning forest and crowds fleeing, prosecutors said. According to court documents, on the night of Dec. 31 Rinderknecht was working as an Uber driver and drove two passengers separately between 10:15 and 11:15 p.m. The passengers told law enforcement they recalled Rinderknecht appearing “agitated and angry.” At 12:12 a.m. Jan. 1, environmental sensing platforms indicated the Lachman Fire had started. During the next five minutes, Rinderknecht allegedly called 911 several times but his calls did not connect because his mobile phone was out of reception See Palisades Fire Page 24
range, court papers show. He connected with 911 after reaching the bottom of the hiking trail and reported the fire, prosecutors said. By that time, an area resident had reported the fire to authorities. Rinderknecht then fled in his vehicle, passing fire engines heading in the opposite direction, according to prosecutors. He then turned around and followed the fire engines at high speed. Rinderknecht arrived at the scene and walked up the same trail from earlier that evening to watch the inferno and the firefighting, Essayli said. At about 1:02 a.m., the suspect used his mobile phone to record more videos of the fire scene. Authorities said that during a Jan. 24 interview with law enforcement officers, Rinderknecht lied about his location when he first saw the Lachman Fire. He said he was near the bottom of a hiking trail when he first saw the fire
ducation Secretary Linda McMahon has been clear about her desire to shut down the agency she runs. She’s laid off half the staff and joked about padlocking the door. She calls it “the final mission.” But the department is not behaving like an agency that is simply winding down. Even as McMahon has shrunk the Department of Education, she’s operated in what she calls “a parallel universe” to radically shift how children will learn for years to come. The department’s actions and policies reflect a disdain for public schools and a desire to dismantle that system in favor of a range of other options — private, Christian and virtual schools or homeschooling. Over just eight months, department officials have opened a $500 million tap for charter schools, a huge outlay for an option that often draws children from traditional public schools. They have repeatedly urged states to spend federal money for poor and at-risk students at private schools and businesses. And they have threatened penalties for public schools that offer programs to address historic inequities for Black or Hispanic students. McMahon has described her agency moving “at lightning rocket speed,” and the department’s actions in just one week in September reflect that urgency. The agency publicly blasted four school districts it views as insubordinate for
refusing to adopt anti-trans policies and for not eliminating special programs for Black students. It created a pot of funding dedicated to what it calls “patriotic education,” which has been criticized for downplaying some of the country’s most troubling episodes, including slavery. And it formed a coalition with Turning Point USA, Hillsdale College, PragerU and dozens of other conservative groups to disseminate patriotic programming. Officials at the Education Department declined to comment or answer questions from ProPublica for this story. At times, McMahon has voiced support for public schools. But more often and more emphatically she has portrayed public schools as unsuccessful and unsafe — and has said she is determined to give parents other options. To carry out her vision, McMahon has brought on at least 20 political appointees from ultraconservative think tanks and advocacy groups eager to de-emphasize public schools, which have educated students for roughly 200 years. Among them is top adviser Lindsey Burke, a longtime policy director at The Heritage Foundation and the lead author of the education section in Project 2025’s controversial agenda for the Trump administration.
See Public school system Page 03