Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced via X the arrest of 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht from Melbourne, Florida, on Oct 8. Rinderknecht is alleged to have intentionally started the Lachman Fire that later turned into the deadly Palisades Fire, burning 23,448 acres and killing 12 people in early January.

Rinderknecht was working as an Uber driver in the Los Angeles area at the time, dropping off a passenger in Pacific Palisades on New Year’s Eve before setting the fire around midnight on Jan. 1, according to a criminal complaint. Two separate passengers that he drove that night claimed that Rinderknecht “appeared agitated and angry.”

According to Essayli’s X post, an AI generated image of a burning city was collected from his device as evidence. At the press briefing held by the Department of Justice officials, Essayli said the complaint also alleged an attempt to contact 911 paired with a suspicious question asked to ChatGPT about cigarettes igniting fires showed Rinderknecht “wanted to preserve evidence of himself trying to assist in the suppression of the fire and he wanted to create evidence regarding a more innocent explanation for the cause of the fire.”

Governor Gavin Newsom said during a press conference at Belvedere Middle School in Los Angeles that he hoped Rinderknecht’s arrest “calms the fear and anxiety” for the victims of the fire.

Additionally, Newsom announced phase one of a two-part report regarding the state’s “preparation and response” to the fires would be released on Oct. 20 by the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI). He affirmed the investigation would and should be without political influence.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement on the arrest, thanking the task forces involved in the investigation.

“I want to thank the federal Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their work, and the leadership of Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department for their efforts,” Bass said. “Both of which were part of a multi-jurisdictional task force that led to this arrest. Now that this phase of the investigation has concluded, the City will release the LAFD after action report shortly.”

Investigators found a lighter inside the glove compartment of Rinderknecht’s car on Jan. 24, which he later admitted to bringing with him when he walked up a hill nearby Skull Rock Trailhead.

While Rinderknecht claimed to have been at the bottom of the trail when the fire began and spread, geolocation data evidence from his iPhone showed that he was standing approximately 30 feet from the fire as it grew before making multiple failed calls to 911, due to his device being out of cellphone range.

The original Lachman Fire was put out in the early hours of Jan. 1. The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that heavy winds caused the fire to once again spread above ground, eventually leading to the Palisades Fire on Jan. 7.

Rinderknecht, who was arrested in his home state of Florida, is facing charges of destruction of property by means of fire. According to an article from the Los Angeles Times, Rinderknecht had once lived in the neighborhood where the fire began.

Rinderknecht’s initial appearance was scheduled for today at 1:30 p.m. ET, in the U.S. District Court in Orlando, Florida.

Closing his press conference, Newsom called out President Donald J. Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson for their refusal to send aid to the victims of the Palisades and Altadena fires.

“The President of the United States has said nothing,” Newsom said. “The Speaker of the House said he’s not interested in helping the American people that were devastated — lives torn asunder — here in Los Angeles.”