In Palisades fire trial, judge bars evidence of alleged burned Bible and arson threat
Key takeaways
- Rinderknecht is charged with starting the Lachman fire, which smoldered underground for a week before exploding into the deadly Palisades fire on Jan. 7, 2025.
- Ahead of the trial, which began this week, Hwang ruled that prosecutors could not introduce those prior acts because they were prejudicial.
- In Steve Haney’s questioning of the prosecution witness on Thursday, U.S.
Jonathan Rinderknecht is on trial in Los Angeles for allegedly sparking the deadly Palisades fire. (U.S. Attorney’s Office) By Brittny Mejia Staff Writer Follow June 12, 2026 10:22 AM PT 1 3 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
A federal judge on Friday declined to allow testimony that the defendant on trial for the Palisades fire had at one point burned a Bible and threatened to burn down his sister’s house, while warning the defense attorney “to tighten up your questioning.”
U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang said Jonathan Rinderknecht’s prior acts were not “direct evidence of the charges in the case,” but that she was concerned that the defense’s cross examination of a federal agent left the impression that he had never expressed interest in deliberately lighting fires.