Man charged for attacking OpenAI’s headquarters, CEO’s home

Authorities charged a Texas man with attempted murder Monday after he allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Daniel Moreno-Gama, 20, traveled from Texas to San Francisco to lob the explosive device at Altman’s house, prosecutors and police said in a news conference. After that incident, he allegedly tried to break the glass doors of OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters with a chair. Security staff said they heard Moreno-Gama say he came to the building to burn it down and kill anyone inside, according to a federal criminal complaint. The incidents allegedly took place in the early morning hours of Friday, April 10. Moreno-Gama was arrested outside OpenAI’s offices. Authorities said that no one was injured.

FBI agent Matt Cobo said during the news conference that Moreno-Gama carried out a planned, targeted, and extremely serious attack.

How did state and federal authorities charge Moreno-Gama? In California, the San Francisco District Attorney levied two counts of attempted murder charges against Moreno-Gama, along with various charges for alleged possession of an incendiary device. The Justice Department federally charged him with attempted damage and destruction of property by means of explosives and possession of an unregistered firearm. He could also face charges related to domestic terrorism, said Craig Missakian, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California. Moreno-Gama is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Why did Moreno-Gama allegedly target OpenAI? Police found a document in Moreno-Gama’s possession that detailed his intentions to harm both the company and Altman, according to a federal criminal complaint. The document warned that AI was a threat to humanity, and advocated for killing the CEOs and investors of AI companies. Moreno-Gama allegedly included a letter in the document addressed to Altman, stating that it would be a miracle if Altman lived. Police said Moreno-Gama also emailed this document to staff at his former college in Texas.

When police arrested him on Friday, they found Moreno-Gama had a jug of kerosene and a lighter. On Monday, authorities raided Moreno-Gama’s home in Texas, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post.

How has Altman responded to the incident? In a personal blog post published Friday evening, the OpenAI CEO shared a photo of his male spouse and the baby that the same-sex couple has from a surrogate mother. Altman said he hoped the picture might dissuade the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at his house. He added that his company welcomed good-faith criticism about the stakes of AI technology, but called for a de-escalation of the rhetoric and tactics used.

Dig deeper: Read my report on OpenAI’s shutdown of the Sora video app.