The suspect who allegedly set the Palisades Fire admired Luigi Mangione and ranted about capitalism, according to new court documents, prosecutors said.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, allegedly searched “Free Luigi” and “reddit lets [sic] kill all billionaires” in December 2024, according to a forensic review of his computer mentioned in a court brief filed last week, the Los Angeles Times reported. Rinderknecht, who worked as an Uber driver ahead of the fires, was described by passengers as “angry, intense, driving erratically and ranting about being ‘pissed off at the world’ and Luigi Mangione, capitalism and vigilantism,” according to the same court documents.

Rinderknecht also had a “visceral reaction” to a relationship with a co-worker that ended, prosecutors said. Rinderknecht allegedly left her “two manic voicemails and entered prompts into ChatGPT expressing his extreme displeasure with her treatment of him” after she rebuffed him on Dec. 30.

Rinderknecht was purportedly upset about being in his ex-love’s neighborhood and had listened to “Un Zder, Un The,” a French rap song whose video shows a trash can on fire while filming videos on Hidden Buddha Hill, the same documents indicate. In addition, Rinderknecht was upset that he did not have New Year’s Eve plans, prosecutors said, according to ABC 7. (RELATED: LA Fire Victims Still Waiting: Less Than 4% Have Started Rebuilding Nearly A Year Later)

Rinderknecht is accused of setting the Lachman fire that burned underground in vegetation root structures for a week before it exploded into the Palisades fire on Jan. 1, 2025, according to the Los Angeles Times. He was arrested in October 2025, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli announced in a post shared to his verified X account. The suspect was charged with destruction of property by means of fire, according to an October 2025 Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.

Law enforcement determined the Palisades fire was a “holdover” from the Lachman fire, and heavy winds caused the fire to spread on Jan. 7, 2025. Geolocation data placed Rinderknecht at the scene of the fire, the DOJ said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Rozella A. Oliver denied Rinderknecht in November 2025 due to his mental health and the fact that he had caused his sister and her family distress by being arrested at her house, ABC7 reported. His trial was originally scheduled for April 2026, but is now expected to begin on June 8, according to the outlet.

Rinderknecht faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the DOJ said.