A federal jury reaches a verdict in the trial of Jonathan Rinderknecht, who is accused of igniting the blaze that became the Palisades Fire and killed 12 people.Prosecutors say surveillance footage, cellphone location data and digital records, including queries to ChatGPT, place Jonathan Rinderknecht near the initial Lachman Fire and show he left after firefighters arrived.Defense attorneys argue there is no proof of accelerants, no eyewitnesses who saw Jonathan Rinderknecht start the fire and point to New Year revelers setting off fireworks as an alternate cause.The 10-day trial, with a dismissal bid denied by U.S. District Court Judge
Anne Hwang, spotlights debates over wildfire management, emergency response and the use of digital evidence in arson prosecutions.