Palisades Fire Suspect Linked to Biden Donations—And His Florida Voter Record Raises New Questions.NN
The alleged pyromaniac accused of igniting the deadly Palisades Fire – Los Angeles’ most destructive wildfire – chipped in a tiny donation to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, records show.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, shelled out $2 to hybrid PAC ActBlue on two separate occasions just days apart in 2020 – $1 on Sept. 4 and another buck on Sept. 11, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Records also show the alleged arsonist — born in France — was registered to vote in Florida, though he never declared a political party.
The deranged Uber driver was charged with “maliciously” sparking a brush fire near a popular hiking trail near the Pacific Palisades on Jan. 1 – a blaze that firefighters initially put out but smoldered unnoticed, underground for days.
Fanned by high winds, the fire reignited six days later into the raging Palisades inferno that killed 12 people, obliterated nearly 7,000 homes and buildings to ash, and caused about $150 billion in damages in the wealthy coastal enclave.
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Rinderknecht, who previously lived in the Los Angeles area, had hiked the trail on New Year’s Day moments after dropping off Uber passengers – who later said their driver appeared “agitated and angry,” the feds said.
He then filmed himself on the mountain and listened to a rap track with themes of “despair and bitterness” by French artist Josman – whose accompanying music video shows the main character lighting things on fire, according to court documents.
Authorities said Rinderknecht had listened to the song “Un Zder, Un The” nine times and watched the fiery music video four times before igniting the flames.
Lyrics from the 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.”
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Rinderknecht is believed to have watched his fire burn for a minute before racing down the trail, calling 911 and fleeing the area – but later returned to the blazing scene when firefighters responded to record them battling the flames, according to court filings.
Months before the blaze, the alleged fire-raiser made disturbing ChatGPT prompts, requesting a grim “dystopian painting divided into distinct parts that blend together seamlessly” with a “burning forest” on the far left” and “a crowd of people” sprinting from the fire, the complaint said.
On a separate occasion, Rinderknecht told ChatGPT that he had “literally burnt” a Bible, boasting that he felt “amazing” and “so liberated” afterwards.
The Palisades Fire erupted around the same time as the Eaton Fire, which killed 19 people, but authorities haven’t yet disclosed a cause for that inferno.
Both fires crippled the region for weeks – reducing entire neighborhoods to ash.
Rinderknecht – who was interrogated by the feds back in January – was cuffed in Florida on Tuesday and charged with malicious destruction by means of fire, among other charges.
He will be transferred back to California to stand trial – where federal prosecutors could seek the death penalty.
A detention hearing is scheduled in US District Court in Orlando, Florida, Thursday morning.
