OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo, Feb. 3, 2025.
Kim Kyung-hoon | Reuters
A man accused of throwing a lit Molotov cocktail at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home last week was trying to kill him, and was motivated by hatred of artificial intelligence technology, prosecutors said Monday.
The suspect, Daniel Moreno-Gama, is being charged with attempted murder in the case, the San Francisco District Attorney said on Monday. Moreno-Gama is also facing federal charges, including attempted damage and destruction of property by means of explosives and possession of an unregistered firearm, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
“The charges announced today reflect a deeply concerning escalation from intent to action targeting a private residence and a technology company with violence,” FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo said in a statement.
In a press conference on Monday, Cobo said, “This was not spontaneous. This was planned, targeted and extremely serious.”
After Moreno-Gama was arrested following his attack on Friday, San Francisco Police Department officers recovered a document in his possession that detailed his intentions, according to a complaint filed in San Francisco federal court on Monday. Moreno-Gama expressed his aim to kill Altman and warned of humanity’s “impending extinction” from AI.
Altman is not directly named in the filing, but it describes “Victim-1” as the chief executive of “a research company that deploys and develops artificial intelligence (AI) and operates in interstate and foreign commerce.”
In the first section of the document, titled “Your Last Warning,” Moreno-Gama “stated he ‘killed /attempted to kill’ Victim-1.” He also listed the names and addresses of several additional AI executives, board members and investors, the complaint said.
The second section of the document explored the purported risks that AI poses to humanity, and was titled “some more words on the matter of our impending extinction,” according to the filing. Moreno-Gama closed the document by writing a letter directly to Altman, according to the filing, stating that, “if by some miracle you live, then I would take this as a sign from the divine to redeem yourself.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said Monday that the agency and its partners conducted an operation in Texas that was related to the attack on Altman’s home.
Daniel Moreno-Gama
Source: Northern District of California.
On Friday, Moreno-Gama threw “a lit Molotov cocktail-style incendiary device at” Atlman’s home at roughly 3:37 a.m., the complaint said. The device caused a fire at the top of the driveway gate, but no injuries were reported and Moreno-Gama fled.
The suspect arrived at OpenAI’s headquarters at around 5:00 a.m., threw a chair against the glass doors and threatened to “to burn it down and kill anyone inside,” according to the filing. Officers responded to the scene and Moreno-Gama was arrested.
An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the attack in a statement on Friday and said, “Thankfully, no one was hurt.”
“We deeply appreciate how quickly SFPD responded and the support from the city in helping keep our employees safe,” OpenAI said in its statement. “The individual is in custody, and we’re assisting law enforcement with their investigation.”
On his personal blog on Friday, Altman addressed the attack and shared a photo of his family, writing that he “underestimated the power of words and narratives.” He said it has been an “extremely intense, chaotic, and high-pressure few years,” and he called for toning down the “the rhetoric and tactics” within the AI industry.
Altman’s home was the apparent subject of a second attack involving gunfire on Sunday. Two individuals were arrested.
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