New delay in Palisades fire arson trial

Prosecutors and defense attorneys have asked a federal judge in Los Angeles to postpone the start of the Palisades fire arson trial until June.

The defense for Jonathan Rinderknecht says in new court filings it has approximately 5 terabytes of investigative material provided by the government to review, investigate, and analyze, and it needs more time to prepare.

The US Attorney’s Office co-signed the request for the delay, called a continuance in court filings.

Rinderknecht was originally scheduled to face trial in December, 2025 on 3 federal criminal charges for allegedly igniting the much smaller Lachman fire in the Pacific Palisades 6 days before the Palisades fire started.

His initial trial date was delayed until April 21, 2026, which attorneys have now asked to postpone until June 9, 2026, according to the filing.

Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty and is being held in federal detention without bail until trial.

Federal prosecutors say smoldering embers from the Lachman fire reignited in extreme winds January 7 and caused the Palisades fire, but Rinderknecht has not been charged in direct connection with the Palisades fire.

Earlier this month Rinderknecht’s defense attorney Steven Haney withdrew a motion that asked the judge to suppress, or exclude, much of the evidence obtained through several search warrants obtained early in the fire investigation.

The motion argued that ATF agents and other investigators lacked enough probable cause to single-out Rinderknecht as a suspect when the search warrants were issued.

As of early Wednesday US District Court Judge Anne Hwang had not ruled on the request for the delay.