During a court appearance Friday, the man accused of starting the wildfire raging across Southern California claimed he could "easily" come up with his $1 million bond — and made several other strange outbursts.
Los Angeles' CBSLA reported that 51-year-old Forrest Gordon Clark initially refused to leave his jail cell to appear before his judge. Once he did, he was recorded standing with his back facing the front of the court and said he was hiding his face for fear of "retaliation."
CBSLA noted that Clark — who has been linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory as well as other alt-right claims — called the arson charges against him "lies" before claiming that he could "easily" pay his $1 million bond.
"I can handle a million right now easily," the arson suspect said.
The fire began in Holy Jim Canyon in Corona California where Clark lived, and the report noted that of the five cabins that were burned in the blaze that began earlier in the week, only the suspect's remains standing.
Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Milligan, another resident of the canyon, said he's known Clark for 20 years and that he's had a history of mental illness and hospitalization. Milligan said he received a text from Clark that said "It’s all going to burn."
The volunteer fire chief also noted that all of the residents in the 14 cabins in Holy Jim Canyon were afraid of Clark.
You can watch footage of the suspect's bizarre court appearance below, via ABC 10:
