{"slug": "prosecutors-used-chatgpt-logs-as-evidence-in-the-palisades-fire-trial", "title": "Prosecutors used ChatGPT logs as evidence in the Palisades fire trial", "summary": "Prosecutors used ChatGPT logs as evidence in the arson trial of Jonathan Rinderknecht, accused of starting a deadly wildfire in Los Angeles on New Year's Day 2025. The logs showed Rinderknecht asking the chatbot about fire and expressing anger, but jurors were unconvinced, leading to a mistrial with a 10-2 vote for acquittal.", "body_md": "Jonathan Rinderknecht was facing arson charges for setting a fire on New Year’s Day in 2025, which became one of the [deadliest wildfires](/news/605763/investigation-fire-emergency-alert-los-angeles-congress) in [LA history](/news/600752/wildfires-los-angeles-climate-attribution-study). To make their case, prosecutors turned to location data from his iPhone, security camera footage, and witness testimony. But they also turned to his ChatGPT logs.\n\n# Prosecutors used ChatGPT logs as evidence in the Palisades fire trial\n\nBut jurors were unconvinced, and it ended in a mistrial.\n\nBut jurors were unconvinced, and it ended in a mistrial.\n\nProsecutors said that Rinderknecht had ChatGPT generate images of fire, asked the chatbot, “Why am I so angry all the time?”, and ranted to it about how the wealthy were destroying the world. They also pointed to a screen recording in which Rinderknecht asked ChatGPT whether someone could be blamed for a fire if it was lit by their cigarette.\n\nBut the jurors were unconvinced. The trial ended in a [deadlock](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2w0k5zzryo) when the jury voted 10-2 in favor of the defense. That led the judge to declare a hung jury and a mistrial.\n\nOne juror told * CBS LA* that she didn’t believe the ChatGPT logs were proof of anything, saying, “I talk to ChatGPT all the time.” She said it actually made her “angry” that they were suggesting his use of the chatbot indicated some sort of character flaw.\n\n**Follow topics and authors** from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/prosecutors-used-chatgpt-logs-as-evidence-in-the-palisades-fire-trial", "canonical_source": "https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/958751/prosecutors-chatgpt-palisades-wildfire-arson-mistrial", "published_at": "2026-06-28 14:12:06+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-28 14:33:03.907649+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-ethics", "large-language-models", "ai-safety"], "entities": ["Jonathan Rinderknecht", "ChatGPT", "Los Angeles", "CBS LA"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/prosecutors-used-chatgpt-logs-as-evidence-in-the-palisades-fire-trial", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/prosecutors-used-chatgpt-logs-as-evidence-in-the-palisades-fire-trial.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/prosecutors-used-chatgpt-logs-as-evidence-in-the-palisades-fire-trial.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/prosecutors-used-chatgpt-logs-as-evidence-in-the-palisades-fire-trial.jsonld"}}