Palisades Fire mistrial doesn’t change guilty verdict for politicians
Palisades arson case a mistrial, but politicos still guilty
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Skip to main content OpinionPalisades Fire mistrial doesn’t change guilty verdict for politicians
By Rob Montz Published June 29, 2026, 6:51 a.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The California Post on GoogleThe Palisades Fire trial ended with a hung jury. But for locals, the verdict has been clear since January 7, 2025: State and local officials are guilty of negligence.
Federal prosecutors had a familiar story to tell about Jonathan Rinderknecht, the 29-year-old Uber driver charged with lighting a fire that, six days later, ignited another fire that burned down the Pacific Palisades.
Rinderknecht is, supposedly, yet another lonely young man politically radicalized by social media seeking glory through a flashy act of class revenge. “He blamed the rich, felt the world was unfair, wanted relief and sought violence,” as one prosecutor put it.
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This is a sadly common character: Luigi Mangione with a less pleasing jawline. And when authorities originally announced the indictment, many news outlets dutifully presented the case as a fait accompli. We’d obviously found our villain.
That story hit a snag on Friday: Rinderknecht’s prosecution ended in a mistrial, with fully 10 of the 12 jurors dead set on acquitting.
I grew up in the Palisades and directed a documentary about the fire based on interviews with dozens of victims. And the response from the many locals I’ve talked to about the mistrial is not righteous indignation: It’s a shrug.
Many see the Rinderknecht case as a sideshow that’s been cynically played up by city and state officials to absolve themselves of blame, to redirect public attention away from their own epic failures.
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“The government is trying to deflect blame to one individual –– unsuccessfully –– rather than taking responsibility for multiple massive governmental failures on so many levels,” says Alan Feld, who first spotted the fire. Local journalist Sue Pascoe thinks “the government desperately wants to blame this fire on someone and Jonathan became the scapegoat.”
“Obviously they just wanted to put it on this guy to distract from the city’s response,” says Masha Pronicheva, who lost her house in the Alphabet Streets.
Assume the prosecution’s case is true. In the early morning hours of January 1, 2025, Rinderknecht really did drop off some Uber passengers in the Palisades, sneak into the nearby hillside and spark dry brush with a cigarette lighter. The embers from that blaze lurked underground for six days until, on January 7, strong wings blew off the top soil and freed them to spark dry brush.
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It was profound policy failures perpetrated by state and city officials that enabled that spark to grow into an inferno that swallowed a town. Rinderknecht’s guilt wouldn’t absolve them of that responsibility.
What’s more, the mistrial may even help Palisadians seeking justice through other means.
There are dozens of lawsuits, totaling nearly $100 billion in possible payouts, currently aimed at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. They’re centered on two of those profound failures: That infamous empty reservoir, and the department’s apparent failure to follow the standard protocol of deenergizing power lines early in a wildfire, likely leading to collapsed poles and exploding transistors that sparked additional flames.
These lawsuits were already an uphill battle. State and municipal authorities are afforded broad immunity protections in natural disasters. A Rinderknecht conviction would have created an official perpetrator and perhaps relieved them of legal liability.
And these lawsuits aren’t some vanity vengeance project of the ultra-wealthy; they’re largely backed by locals who lost the bulk of their life savings. These lawsuits are their only chance to be made whole.
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The transformation of the Palisades into some of the most expensive real estate in Los Angeles is a relatively recent phenomenon, as East Coast finance titans noticed it’s got better weather than the Hamptons and tech entrepreneurs noticed it’s more cozy than Beverly Hills. The Palisades of the ’80s and ’90s I grew up in had a healthy middle class — people like my next door neighbor Lou, who built movie sets, or Richard Myer, the long-time minister at Palisades Lutheran Church.
Many of these people were still living in the Palisades when the fire broke out, and when they lost their homes, which had steadily appreciated over decades, they lost a huge chunk of their wealth.
Insurance won’t make them whole.
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California’s aggressive regulations prevented fire insurance providers from properly setting premiums to match the local risks. Most wound up simply leaving the market, cancelling over a thousand local policies. The government then filled the vacuum it itself had created with a state-sponsored option –– the “FAIR” plan –– which has notoriously skimpy benefits.
My mom is rebuilding, and her FAIR plan payout covers less than half the cost of construction.
If Rinderknecht is truly guilty, let’s hope that’s properly proven in a retrial. But there’s a reason so many Palisadians are apathetic about Friday’s news. He’s a minor player. The real people responsible for the blaze that burned down their homes still haven’t been held to account.
Rob Montz is CEO of Good Kid Productions and the director of “The Untold Story of the Palisades Fire.”
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
