{"id":2620869,"date":"2026-06-29T10:53:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/deadly-palisades-fire-defendants-case-ends-in-mistrial-as-jury-remains-deadlocked\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:55:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:55:18","slug":"deadly-palisades-fire-defendants-case-ends-in-mistrial-as-jury-remains-deadlocked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/deadly-palisades-fire-defendants-case-ends-in-mistrial-as-jury-remains-deadlocked\/","title":{"rendered":"Deadly Palisades Fire Defendant&#8217;s Case Ends in Mistrial as Jury Remains Deadlocked"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdeadly-palisades-fire-defendants-case-ends-in-mistrial-as-jury-remains-deadlocked%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2620869&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-snls-pete-davidson-gets-buried-alive-in-kanye-west-music-video\/\" title=\"WATCH \u2013 SNL&#039;s Pete Davidson Gets Buried Alive in Kanye West Music Video\">judge declared<\/a> a mistrial in the case of jonathan Rinderknecht, accused of setting the Pacific Palisades fire, after the jury was deadlocked, with most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/san-francisco-police-officer-acquitted-of-assault-after-d-a-s-office-accused-of-withholding-evidence\/\" title=\"San Francisco Police Officer Acquitted of Assault After D.A.&#039;s Office ... of Withholding Evidence\">jurors voting<\/a> not guilty. The trial lasted nearly three weeks, with prosecutors arguing that Rinderknecht intentionally started the fire out of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >anger adn resentment<\/a> towards the wealthy, citing evidence such as AI-generated images of fire, a green lighter with his DNA, and cellphone data placing him near the scene. Witnesses also described him as enraged and irritable. Defense attorneys argued that the evidence was insufficient and highlighted that most jurors believed Rinderknecht was not guilty, suggesting the case was weak. A retrial is scheduled for October 19, and Rinderknecht remains in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dhs-us-on-pace-for-highest-number-of-illegal-border-crossings-in-20-years-border-situation-difficult\/\" title=\"DHS: US On Pace For Highest Number Of Illegal Border Crossings In 20 Years, Border Situation \u2018Difficult\u2019\">custody pending<\/a> the new trial.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A judge presiding over the case of the suspect accused of starting the Pacific Palisades fire declared a mistrial Friday after the jury said they were deadlocked.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang declared the mistrial after jurors told her that both sides \u201care unwilling to change their opinion\u201d and that the jury was \u201cat a standstill,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/pacific-palisades-fire-jury-verdict-rcna351208\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The decision came after a nearly three-week trial during which the prosecution sought to convince the jury to convict former Uber driver <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/suspect-arrested-connection-devastating-la-wildfire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jonathan Rinderknecht<\/a>, 30, of destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, and timber set afire.<\/p>\n<p>The good news for those who seek justice in the case is that Hwang has already scheduled a retrial to start on Oct. 19 and, more importantly, decreed that Rinderknecht must remain in federal custody pending the new trial.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The evidence is strong that Jonathan Rinderknecht is responsible for igniting the fire on January 1, 2025, which eventually became the Palisades fire. We fully intend to retry this case before a new jury and obtain guilty verdicts on all charged counts.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/USAttyEssayli\/status\/2070542752300015931?\">June 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>During the trial, prosecutor Danbee C. Kim portrayed Rinderknecht as an extremely angry, resentful man <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/raging-leftist-keith-olbermann-shows-true-colors-smears-melania-trump-accent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">full of rage and hate<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn Jan. 1, 2025, Jonathan Rinderknecht started a fire on a hill in the Pacific Palisades,\u201d Kim said in closing statements. \u201cHe was angry all the time. He believed he was enslaved by the wealthy. He didn\u2019t understand why the \u2018rich losers\u2019 and the \u2018motherf***ers at the top\u2019 had it all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier in the trial, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/06\/25\/us\/palisades-fire-jonathan-rinderknecht\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN<\/a>, Kim\u2019s team pointed to evidence showing that Rinderknecht had used the artificial intelligence chatbot <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/lonely-woman-uses-chatgpt-generate-family-multiple-boyfriends\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ChatGPT<\/a> to generate images of fire, and that he\u2019d at one point asked it, \u201cWhy am I so angry all the time?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Kim\u2019s team had some of the suspect\u2019s Uber passengers testify that he was \u201cenraged,\u201d \u201cirritable,\u201d and reckless while driving them, often ranting about his hatred for President Donald Trump and his fascination with alleged murderer Luigi Mangione.<\/p>\n<p>Defense attorney Steve Haney pushed back by arguing that his client\u2019s mindset was irrelevant, and that all that mattered was whether prosecutors could \u201cprove he set\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/man-accused-starting-palisades-fire-become-obsessed-leftist-ideas-according-prosecutors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Palisades Fire<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>After the mistrial was declared, Haney further argued that the fact that 10 out of 12 jury members had voted \u201cnot guilty\u201d \u2014 including the woman below \u2014 was an \u201coverwhelming message\u201d that the prosecution\u2019s case was weak.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">There should be basic critical thinking tests before being allowed to be a juror<\/p>\n<p>A juror in the federal arson trial of Jonathan Rinderknecht, who was accused of setting the Pacific Palisades fire, says she couldn\u2019t find him guilty because she gets sad all the time and talks to\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2aLK65Fs6t\">pic.twitter.com\/2aLK65Fs6t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WallStreetApes\/status\/2070982477112635479?\">June 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https:\/\/ktla.com\/news\/local-news\/mistrial-declared-in-palisades-fire-arson-trial-jury-deadlocked\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KTLA<\/a> legal analyst Alison Triessl noted that, judging by some of the evidence presented by the government, the opposite appeared to be at least somewhat true.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe circumstantial case that the federal government had was pretty strong,\u201d she said after Friday\u2019s court decision. \u201cSo they had someone they painted as an angry, hateful, \u2018I want to take revenge against the rich.\u2019 He had these images he had created about cities burning down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA green lighter with his DNA is found in his car. The cellphone data has him right near the scene within 30 feet of where the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obviously-a-mistake-sen-ted-cruz-admits-second-thoughts-about-cancun-flight-after-backlash\/\" title=\"\u2018Obviously A Mistake\u2019: Sen. Ted Cruz Admits \u2018Second Thoughts\u2019 About Cancun Flight After Backlash\">initial fire<\/a> was set. And he makes some statements that the government says were incriminating,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>However, during the course of the trial, Haney drew attention to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/kyle-busch-911-call-released-shedding-new-light-shocking-death\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">frantic 911 calls<\/a> his client had made right after the initial fire erupted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave you ever heard of an arsonist calling 911 multiple times and then staying at the scene?\u201d he asked arson expert Edward Michael Nordskog.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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