2026-06-10T10:05:41.142Z / https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/arson-trial-starts-man-blamed-los-angeles-deadly-palisades-fire-2026-06-10/
- 乔纳森·林德克内希特面临三项联邦纵火罪指控
- 检方指控这名前优步司机对富人怀有怨恨
- 辩方称当事人成为消防救灾失败的替罪羊
洛杉矶6月10日路透电 — 针对一名前优步司机的联邦纵火案审判将于周三开始宣读开场陈述，该司机被控蓄意纵火，最终酿成洛杉矶有记录以来致死人数最多、破坏最严重的野火之一。
30岁的乔纳森·林德克内希特于去年10月被起诉，分别被控一项使用火刑毁坏财产、一项纵火波及州际贸易财产以及一项在公共土地非法焚烧木材的重罪。
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检方指控，他于2025年1月“恶意”纵火，火势起初被迅速扑灭，但在茂密植被下持续闷烧，一周后复燃。
随后强风将火势助长为大规模野火，造成12人死亡，彻底摧毁了海滨飞地太平洋帕利塞兹，财产损失约1500亿美元。
他已提出无罪抗辩，但自去年10月在佛罗里达州被捕以来一直被羁押，被捕两周后正式遭到起诉。
美国司法部表示，如果三项罪名全部成立，他将面临至少5年监禁，最高可判45年徒刑。
周二完成陪审团遴选后，检方与辩方律师预计将于周三在洛杉矶市中心的美国地区法院开始陈述案情。
据检方透露，林德克内希特在完成优步载客任务后，于新年午夜后几分钟在太平洋帕利塞兹附近山区靠近圣莫尼卡滨海观景步道的一处徒步小径附近点燃了火堆。
洛杉矶消防员原本以为已经迅速扑灭了这场被称为拉克曼火灾的火情。但联邦调查人员表示，火势于1月7日再次爆发，并迅速蔓延为破坏力极强的帕利塞兹大火。
在飓风级别的圣安娜风助推下，过火面积超过2.3万英亩（约合9300公顷），约6000座建筑被焚毁。
这场大火与洛杉矶东北部另一场灾难性野火同时发生，即伊顿野火，那场火灾造成19人死亡，彻底摧毁了阿尔塔迪纳社区。
曼焦内崇拜者，抑或是消防失职的替罪羊
联邦检方表示，林德克内希特似乎对富人怀有怨恨情绪。
一份预审备忘录显示，他一直在密切关注路易吉·曼焦内的相关新闻。曼焦内因杀害保险巨头联合健康集团首席执行官而被起诉，在部分极左翼圈子中被视为工人阶级的民间英雄。
备忘录还提到，林德克内希特因一段岌岌可危的恋情而“极度焦虑不安”。
法庭文件与林德克内希特律师的公开声明显示，其辩护策略至少部分将围绕“他成为洛杉矶消防部门失职的替罪羊”这一论点展开。
林德克内希特曾是太平洋帕利塞兹居民，今年3月在一份法庭声明中否认自己故意纵火，坚称自己无罪。
他承认在送完优步乘客后，曾爬上一处山顶观看跨年烟花，并从那里看到了火焰燃起。
他表示自己拨打了911紧急电话报警，并一直留在现场直到消防员抵达，还主动提出提供帮助。
但根据该案提交的刑事起诉书，手机数据显示，在拉克曼火灾起火点附近，除林德克内希特外没有其他人在场。
在“佛陀山”观望
法庭文件显示，林德克内希特在“佛陀山”停留期间，收听了一首说唱歌曲，其MV中出现了纵火画面。
随后他点燃了真实的火堆并逃离现场，不久后又返回现场观看火势与消防员的扑救行动。
根据起诉书，在他拨打911电话时，曾在人工智能应用ChatGPT中输入问题：“如果你的香烟引发了火灾，你是否有责任？”（原文拼写错误为lift）。起诉书称，ChatGPT的回复是“是的”。
联邦调查人员认定，这场火灾很可能是有人使用打火机点燃植被或纸张等易燃物引发的。
去年10月的保释听证会上，辩方律师史蒂夫·哈尼表示，林德克内希特实质上是因七天前的一场大火被指控纵火，而此次受审的更大规模火灾正是由此引发。
“那他们为什么要把消防部门失职的责任推到他身上？”哈尼反问道，并补充称辩方并不认可检方关于两场火灾属于同一火势延续的说法。
当时哈尼还表示，其当事人没有任何前科，也没有记录在案的精神病史。
检方在法庭文件中称，林德克内希特的作案动机是对富人的愤怒，他曾用“打倒所有亿万富翁”等关键词在谷歌上搜索曼焦内的相关新闻，并多次向优步乘客抱怨2024年12月的枪击致死事件。
史蒂夫·戈尔曼洛杉矶报道；克拉伦斯·费尔南德斯编辑
Arson trial starts for man blamed for Los Angeles’ deadly Palisades fire
2026-06-10T10:05:41.142Z / https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/arson-trial-starts-man-blamed-los-angeles-deadly-palisades-fire-2026-06-10/
- Jonathan Rinderknecht faces three federal arson charges
- Prosecutors allege ex-Uber driver was angry at wealthy
- Defense say client was scapegoated for firefighting failures
LOS ANGELES, June 10 (Reuters) – Opening statements were set to begin on Wednesday in the federal arson trial of a former Uber driver charged with deliberately setting a blaze that grew into one of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires on record in Los Angeles.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, was indicted last October on one felony count each of destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, and illegal burning of timber on public lands.
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He is accused of “maliciously” starting a fire in January 2025 that was quickly suppressed but continued to smolder under dense vegetation before re-igniting a week later.
Fierce winds then whipped it into a conflagration that killed 12 people and laid waste to the seaside enclave of Pacific Palisades, leading to about $150 billion in property damage.
He pleaded not guilty but has remained in custody since his arrest in Florida, about two weeks before his indictment.
If convicted on all three counts, he would face at least five years in prison, and up to 45 years behind bars, the U.S. Justice Department says.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers were expected to begin presenting their case on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles after Tuesday’s completion of jury selection.
According to prosecutors, Rinderknecht kindled the fire a few minutes after midnight on New Year’s Day near a hiking trail in the mountains near Pacific Palisades, overlooking the ocean adjacent to Santa Monica, after finishing an Uber shift.
Los Angeles firefighters believed they had swiftly extinguished the blaze, known as the Lachman Fire. But it erupted again on January 7 and grew swiftly into the devastating Palisades Fire, federal investigators say.
Driven by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, the flames scorched more than 23,000 acres (9,300 hectares) and destroyed some 6,000 structures.
It coincided with another catastrophic wildfire northeast of Los Angeles known as the Eaton fire, which killed 19 people and ravaged the community of Altadena.
MANGIONE ADMIRER, OR FIREFIGHTING SCAPEGOAT
Federal prosecutors have said Rinderknecht appeared to harbor a resentment of the wealthy.
A pre-trial memorandum alleged he was closely tracking news of Luigi Mangione, charged with murdering the CEO of insurance giant UnitedHealthcare and admired in some extreme left-wing circles as a working-class folk hero.
The memo also said Rinderknecht was “deeply agitated” over a fraying romantic relationship.
Court documents and public statements by Rinderknecht’s lawyers suggested that at least part of his defense would hinge on the argument that he was being scapegoated for failures of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
A onetime Pacific Palisades resident, Rinderknecht professed his innocence in a court declaration in March, denying that he wilfully started any fire.
He acknowledged seeing flames erupt from the vantage point of a hilltop he had climbed to watch New Year’s Eve fireworks after dropping off his Uber passenger.
He said he called the 911 emergency number to report the blaze, and stayed on the scene until after firefighters arrived and offered to help them.
But according to a criminal complaint filed in the case, cellphone data showed that no one besides Rinderknecht was in the area where the Lachman Fire started.
WATCHING FROM ‘BUDDHA HILL’
Court documents showed that while perched on “Buddha Hill,” Rinderknecht listened to a rap song whose music video depicted things being set on fire.
He then proceeded to light a real blaze and fled the scene, only to return a short time later to watch the flames and the firefighters.
During his 911 call, according to the complaint, Rinderknecht typed a question into the AI app ChatGPT asking, “Are you at fault if a fire is lift (sic) because of your cigarettes.” ChatGPT’s response was, “Yes,” the complaint said.
Federal investigators concluded the blaze was probably started by someone using a lighter to burn combustible material such as vegetation or paper.
In seeking bail for his client at a hearing last October, defense lawyer Steve Haney said Rinderknecht was essentially being charged with arson allegedly committed seven days before a much larger fire for which he is being prosecuted.
“So why are they blaming him for whatever the fire department didn’t do?” Haney asked rhetorically, adding that the defense was not conceding prosecutors’ assertion that one fire was a continuation of another.
At the time Haney said his client had no prior criminal record and no documented history of mental illness.
Prosecutors said in court filings that Rinderknecht was motivated by anger against the rich, saying he followed Mangione news on Google using such search terms as “Let’s take down all the billionaires,” and ranted to various Uber passengers about the December 2024 shooting death.
Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Clarence Fernandez