Death Penalty May Be on the Table for Man Charged in Palisades Wildfire
Gov. Gavin Newsom is forced to shift the blame from climate change to….”Florida Man”.
A few days ago, my colleague Mary Chastain reported that authorities have arrested Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, for allegedly starting a fire that turned into the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, CA.
Rinderknecht allegedly started the fire on January 1. It exploded due to intense winds on January 7 and ripped through the prestigious neighborhood of Pacific Palisades, killing 12 people. It also destroyed over 6,000 homes and buildings. I followed the Great Los Angeles Fire in detail as it occurred, and noted the absolutely staggering level of destruction.
Many wrote that the suspect should be facing the death penalty for the lives lost in this region-wide disaster.
It looks like that sentence may be on the table after all.
Prosecutor Rachel Lyons called Harrison to testify as she argued for Rinderknecht to be held in jail without bail on the grounds he’s a flight risk and a danger to the community.
…Lyons said the fact that Rinderknecht has family in France and speaks the language makes him a flight risk.
She also said he could end up facing much harsher penalties than the five-to-20 years that come with a conviction on the charge he faces because of the aggravating circumstances. She said he might even face the death penalty.
Jonathan Rinderknecht could face death penalty in Palisades fire case https://t.co/LF3o9F7Vkh
— LB Press-Telegram (@presstelegram) October 9, 2025
Further investigation upended the plans of climate cultists and their political minions, especially California Gov. Gavin Newsom, to link this historic disaster to global warming. In fact, it is arguably another case of extreme leftist rhetoric unhinging another mentally unstable person.
The man accused of sparking the deadly Palisades Fire on New Year’s Day in Southern California frequently made anti-Trump social media posts and shared how global warming was causing climate change.
One story Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, shared was from ProPublica, titled “Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration,” which pictured a hillside on fire in California.
He also shared another article, “Senator Kamala Harris Says Meat Is Destroying the Planet,” and posted a link to contribute to former President Joe Biden’s election campaign in 2020.
Rinderknecht’s other posts include pictures of Trump supporters crying after losing the 2020 election and a post that claimed President Donald Trump inherited a great economy from former President Barack Obama, saying he “destroyed it” during COVID-19.
Rinderknecht frequently posted about climate change and shared another story in 2020, “The Great Climate Migration has begun.” In another, he shared a story titled “Summers could become ‘too hot for humans.'”
Check out this summarized news story 👀
Rinderknecht’s Anti-Trump Posts Uncovered in Palisades Fire Case https://t.co/r8St9cdFtd
— News Wave (@mynewswave) October 10, 2025
So, who or what can Newsom blame now? Hot Air’s Beege Welborne explains that because the suspect hails from Central Florida, the shift will be to… Florida Man.
His mental state would make death penalty charges a serious challenge in a cut-and-dry capital murder case. This is going to be a stretch, but you know there are plenty of people who would string him up for free right now.
If Rinderknecht is guilty, they have to max out whatever they can get for the catastrophic harm.
Back on the West Coast, Gavin Newsom and Co. are going through a tremendous ‘cope’ spasm right now, and shamelessly deflecting blame as only they can.
For one thing, this arrest has blown their climate change excuse for the fire out of the water. Crushed it like a bug.
The real deflection is coming from Newsom making sure Rinderknecht, who moved to Melbourne five months ago after living in California for years, is known as a ‘FLORIDA RESIDENT.’
Florida man Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, accused of starting the deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, often posted online about climate change and mocked Trump supporters. Prosecutors say he filmed and reported the blaze that killed 12 and destroyed thousands of homes. pic.twitter.com/Hfnmy2TV2L
— News 92Times (@News92Times) October 10, 2025
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In California
Do t make me laugh
No way, unless he is federally prosecuted.
“In fact, it is arguably another case of extreme leftist rhetoric unhinging another mentally unstable person.”
The leftists who produce the fear and outrage will not be held accountable.
The incompetent public officials will not be held accountable.
The leftist environmentalists who oppose reasonable forestry practices will not be held accountable.
But the brainwashed fool who started the fire might get the death penalty.
Why isn’t there more outrage about LAFD’s apparent failure to ensure that the initial fire was truly extinguished, especially given the forecasted wind event? Shouldn’t there have been active monitoring of the area?
This, exactly. I live in the LA metro area. I have friends whose homes were threatened and one who lost everything except her garage to the Palisades fire. While this loser 100% needs to be prosecuted for starting the original fire, this was also a failure of the LAFD for not making sure it was out. This was far from our first rodeo and we have the thermal imaging technology. And that’s not even getting into the fuel load and water availability issues.
It definitely was a failure by the fire department
But let’s get real as to who’s fault this is
Indeed, the same thing happened in OC in 2017 or 2018 IIRC, out in one of the canyons north and east of Anaheim Hills. It’s SOP telling campers to drown campfires because buried embers can still smolder and reignite a fire, especially driven by wind. Yeah, hang the arsonist for starting the initial fire, but I doubt LA voters will throw da bums out.
Not if it has to get past a Cultural Marxist Judge, that includes a Federal Court
Let California feed and house him for the next 60 years. Maybe he will become trans in prison and the state taxpayers can pay for gender reassignment surgery.
California is tops in bottom surgery…..
Hook him up with the doom gnome, lock them both away, and throw away the key.
California still has the death penalty? Seems kid of a stretch to make this a federal crime. I’m not a fan of “he crossed state lines to commit a crime, therefore it’s federal.”
Twelve dead, yes it should be death penalty eligible, if that’s what California voters want.
That’s what scapegoats are for. Load sins on them and execute them.
Please don’t use the word “Cope” in a news article ever again. you sound retarded.
Also I’d like to see what evidence they have. Cell phone data isn’t enough. The guy without the cell phone setting fires to burn the infidels can’t be tracked that way.
My apologies I just realized you were quoting a different retard.
Can’t he just say he’s a woman and then get a much reduced sentence ?
Dem judge already considering plea deal?
There is no real death penalty in CA. The law is on the books but it never gets used. Gov newscum early release convicted murderers and psycho killers. Criminals have more rights than victims in CA.