Working in concert with ATF agents, West Melbourne police officers arrested Rinderknecht after they conducted a traffic stop Tuesday morning, according to West Melbourne Police Chief Greg Vesta.

Rinderknecht is accused of setting a brush fire Jan. 1 that was put out, but then smoldered unnoticed underground for days before igniting the raging Palisades inferno.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, has been arrested in Florida as a suspect in the Pacific Palisades fire that killed 12 and damaged over 6,000 homes.

The Palisades Fire devastated a sizable portion of Los Angeles after it broke out in January 2025, and its effects are still being felt in the region where it took place.

According to the criminal complaint, Rinderknecht's two Uber passengers on the night of December 31, 2024, noticed that he appeared agitated and angry.

Who is Jonathan Rinderknecht and did he use ChatGPT to depict a burning city? Authorities identified the 29-year-old Florida man as the suspect behind the Pacific Palisades fire in Los Angeles. Officials claim he generated an image of a burning city using ChatGPT before allegedly starting the fire.

Judge in Florida keeps suspect in custody over arsonist traits and family concerns about his mental health - Anadolu Ajansı

Jonathan Rinderknecht has been charged with allegedly lighting the deadly Los Angeles Palisades Fire earlier this year.