An Uber driver who has been accused of starting the Pacific Palisades fire, the most destructive wildfire in Los Angles history, donated to former President Joe Biden’s election campaign in 2020, records reveal.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, made a $2 donation to the Democratic Party fundraising arm ActBlue. The paltry donation was made in two installments, with one dollar donated on September 4 and another on September 11 in 2020, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Records reviewed by the New York Post also indicate that Rinderknecht — who was born in France — registered to vote in Florida, but never declared an affiliation with a political party.
The flames consumed over 23,000 acres, and it took fire crews nearly three weeks to fully contain the blaze.
Rinderknecht is accused of setting a brush fire on January 1 that was initially put out, but then smoldered underground, going unnoticed for several days, before igniting the Palisades inferno, which left 12 people dead and caused around $150 billion in property damage. The Palisades blaze, which was sparked by the Lachman Fire, torched more than 6,000 homes and buildings in the wealthy coastal community.
“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, announced Tuesday.

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is accused of sparking the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history
Investigators recovered disturbing evidence from Rinderknecht’s electronic devices, including a ChatGPT prompt requesting a, “dystopian painting divided into distinct parts that blend together seamlessly. On the far left, there is a burning forest. Next to it, a crowd of people is running away from the fire, leading to the middle,” according to the complaint.
Rinderknecht also listened to a French rap song with themes of “despair and bitterness” — that has an accompanying music video of the artist Josman setting things ablaze — nine times before allegedly igniting the flames, the New York Post reported.
He is facing a number of criminal charges, including malicious destruction by means of fire.
RELATED: LA Mayor Demanded Steep Fire Department Budget Cuts Just Days Before Palisades Fire
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