Joel Rinderknecht said federal officials are treating his son as a “scapegoat” for what turned out to be the disastrous Palisades fire.
He and another family member spoke to the media outside a federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, June 26, just after a jury said it could not reach a decision on his son, with 10 jurors saying he was not guilty and two saying otherwise.
Even with the mistrial on all three charges, Jonathan Rinderknecht must remain in custody until his retrial in October.
Mistrial declared in trial against man accused of igniting the Palisades fire
“It feels like the government is taking him as a scapegoat,” Joel Rinderknecht said. “They have no direct evidence, as you see, because they couldn’t convince anybody in the jury. …
“So it’s like this is a big victory, and it feels so unfair that given the circumstances, given this victory, the government maintains our son, my son, in jail,” he said.
Rinderknecht’s incarceration has been difficult for the family, as has contacting him, said a sister.
“It’s very hard, and it’s very hard to communicate with people that are in MDC (Metropolitan Detention Center),” Leah Rinderknecht said. “It’s not that easy. You can’t get phone calls, you can barely get messages.”
Jonathan Rinderknecht has been behind bars since his October 2025 arrest in Florida, where he had been living with his sister and brother-in-law.
A brother was with his sister and dad at the impromptu press conference but did not speak. The Rinderknechts did not take questions after their statements.
While living with his sister in Melbourne, Florida, local police were called to the home twice, once after Rinderknecht allegedly threatened to blow up the home during an argument, authorities said. The second time was after he allegedly said he had a firearm and would use it in self-defense against his brother-in-law, according to Special Agent Thomas Harrison of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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Issues at the Florida home were mentioned during a November 2025 bail hearing, when family members testified that they believed Rinderknecht was innocent, despite the previous clashes when he stayed at his sister’s home.