TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A man accused of causing a fatal and destructive Pacific Palisades wildfire earlier this year was arrested in central Florida on Wednesday.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice and California Law Enforcement announced their arrests at a press conference.
Authorities claim that Jonathan Linderknecht, 29, caused a major January fire that later became one of the most devastating fires in the history of the Los Angeles region.
The fire killed more than a dozen people in wealthy coastal areas and burned down more than 6,000 homes and other structures.
The Justice Department said that the evidence found on Linderknecht’s device was “images depicting the burning city he generated on ChatGPT.”
Linderknecht was an Uber driver and lived nearby at the time of the fire, but later moved to Florida, officials said. He was detained at his Melbourne home and is scheduled for his first court appearance in Orlando on Wednesday afternoon.
Officials say he has no criminal history.
