ChatGPT logs fail to sway jury in Palisades fire arson trial
Jurors deadlocked 10-2 for the defense after prosecutors cited ChatGPT activity in the arson case against Jonathan Rinderknecht.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
2 min read
A Los Angeles arson trial tied to the deadly Palisades fire ended in a mistrial after jurors rejected prosecutors’ case, including evidence drawn from the defendant’s ChatGPT history. The outcome shows the limits prosecutors may face when trying to use chatbot activity to suggest motive or state of mind.
Jonathan Rinderknecht was accused of setting a fire on New Year’s Day in 2025 that later became the Palisades fire, which The Verge described as one of the deadliest wildfires in Los Angeles history. According to The Verge, prosecutors built their case with several kinds of evidence, including iPhone location data, security camera footage and witness testimony.
They also introduced records of Rinderknecht’s interactions with ChatGPT, The Verge reported. Prosecutors said those records showed he had used the chatbot to create images of fire, asked it, “Why am I so angry all the time?”, and complained to it about wealthy people destroying the world.
The Verge also reported that prosecutors pointed to a screen recording in which Rinderknecht asked ChatGPT whether someone could be held responsible for a fire started by their cigarette. Prosecutors presented those exchanges as part of their effort to connect Rinderknecht to the fire, according to the report.
The jury did not agree on a verdict. The BBC reported that jurors split 10-2 in favor of the defense, prompting the judge to declare a hung jury and a mistrial.
A juror who spoke to CBS LA said the ChatGPT evidence did not persuade her. The juror, identified by CBS LA as Syrina, said she uses ChatGPT regularly and did not view the logs as proof of wrongdoing.
She told CBS LA she was angered by the suggestion that using the chatbot reflected a character flaw. In CBS LA’s account, she also said the prosecution’s case was hurt by a lack of more specific phone data.
The case placed a new kind of digital record in front of a jury: conversations with an AI chatbot. Prosecutors treated the exchanges as relevant to Rinderknecht’s mindset, while at least one juror viewed them as ordinary interactions with a widely used tool, according to CBS LA.
The mistrial leaves the arson charges unresolved. The reports did not state what prosecutors plan to do next.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.