A Florida man has been arrested and charged in connection with the deadly Palisades Fire.

“Today we are announcing the arrest of 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht on a criminal complaint charging him with maliciously starting what became the Palisades Fire in January,” Bill Essayli, acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, wrote via X on Wednesday, October 8. “The complaint alleges that Rinderknecht started a fire in Pacific Palisades on New Year’s Day — a blaze that eventually turned into one of the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history, causing death and widespread destruction.”

During a press conference on Wednesday, officials alleged that Rinderknecht started the Lachman Fire in the Pacific Palisades on January 1.

Although the fire was initially limited t

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