Palisades Fire suspect gave off ‘incel energy,’ Uber passenger testifies

A man accused of sparking the New Year’s Day fire that helped fuel the deadly Palisades inferno allegedly exhibited “subtle energy,” according to a passenger in his Uber.

Jonathan Rinderknecht was arrested in October 2025 and charged with destruction of property by fire and pleaded not guilty after being charged in connection with the Palisades Fire in January 2025. He is currently on trial in California. Los Angeles resident Brennan White said Friday that the suspect was emitting “subtle energy” as he and his fiancee got into Rinderknecht’s Uber on New Year’s Day 2025.

White said Rinderknecht was driving erratically and would not stop talking about how humanity had collapsed and that there were no good women in the area.

The witness told the Los Angeles Police Department that Rinderknecht was emitting “subtle energy,” which is a slang term for someone who is lonely or more isolated.

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White, who had been drinking that night, said he was making small talk with Rinderknecht for the first 3-5 minutes of the journey, then the driver started yelling. He said Rinderknecht was verbally violent, but he did not want to be removed from Uber because he thought it would be better to not say anything.

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Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital that this could be one of the most “unforgettable” moments in the Rinderknecht case, adding that prosecutors had a special reason to call White to testify.

“An incel is someone who is unable to form or maintain a relationship and remains involuntarily celibate. So a loner, a weirdo, someone like that is more likely to be an arsonist, more likely to be a mass murderer. So I think portraying him that way will help the prosecution’s case,” Rahmani said. “The question is, is this an unfair character assassination? Because Rinderknecht is not accused of being an odd man out, he is charged with arson. And potentially that could give the defense another argument on appeal if their client is convicted.”

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Fire personnel respond to destroyed homes while dropping water from a helicopter as the Palisades Fire grows on January 7, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. (David Swanson/AFP/Getty Images)

In a trial transcript filed in April, prosecutors said Rinderknecht was apparently obsessed with Luigi Mangione, who is accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

“In the months before the fire, he had become increasingly angry with his own life and society in general,” prosecutors wrote. “For example, in the weeks and hours before the fire, the defendant focused on Luigi Mangione, who allegedly murdered the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in New York City on December 4, 2024.”

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Federal prosecutors said Rinderknecht searched for the terms “free LuigiMangione,” “let’s take out all billionaires” and “reddit let’s kill all billionaires” on Dec. 12 and 13, 2024.

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“On December 31, 2024, and January 1, 2025, several of the defendant’s Uber passengers described the defendant as angry, irritable, driving erratically and being ‘mad at the world’ and shouting against Luigi Mangione, capitalism, and vigilantism,” prosecutors added in the court filing.

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When investigators asked Rinderknecht on Jan. 24, 2025, why someone might commit arson on the Pacific Fence, he allegedly responded that it was out of anger and appealed to Mangione.

“When investigators asked the defendant why someone would commit arson on the Pacific Rim, the defendant replied that it might stem from anger at rich people enjoying their money because ‘we’re basically enslaved by them,’ and compared such an act of ‘desperation’ to the murder for which Mangione was charged,” prosecutors said.

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Luigi Mangione attends an evidence suppression hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court in New York City on May 18, 2026. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

Mangione’s attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said in a statement to Fox News Digital: “As we have previously stated in numerous public court filings, Mr. Mangione does not support violent acts and does not condone past or future political violence. These repeated attempts to associate him with unrelated acts or to imply that he condones or supports those acts are irresponsible, dangerous and prejudicial.”

Lena Weissbrot, who considers herself a supporter of Mangione, touched on the connection while speaking to Fox News Digital on Tuesday outside the scheduled hearing for the alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO.

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“I don’t think we can blame Luigi for these things, I think there’s so much wealth disparity in America that eventually it’s going to boil over and I think Luigi was just a temperature check… He kind of gave people a receptacle for all the anger that’s simmering under the surface here,” he said.

Weissbrot stated that he is from Los Angeles and added that he would “never support” the person who started the Palisades Fire.

Rinderknecht is charged with destruction of property by fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce, and setting fire to timber. Fox News Digital has reached out to his lawyers for comment.

Fox News’ Amanda Gillilan contributed to this report.