The 4 A.M. Strike
Daniel Moreno-Gama, 20, ignited a Molotov cocktail outside Sam Altman's San Francisco residence at 4 a.m. Friday, setting the metal entry gate ablaze before fleeing on foot, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed Monday. Surveillance images show a hooded figure matching Moreno-Gama's description hurling the incendiary device; the flames were confined to the gate and no one inside the home was harmed. Police say he carried multiple homemade incendiary devices, a jug of kerosene, and a blue lighter during the attack.
The Cross-Country Manhunt
Authorities say Moreno-Gama flew from Spring, Texas, to the Bay Area with the explicit goal of killing Altman and destroying OpenAI property. After the home attack he traveled roughly three miles to the company headquarters, used a chair to batter the glass doors, and told a security guard he had come to "burn it down and kill anyone inside," the complaint states. San Francisco police arrested him outside the building minutes later and recovered the written manifesto he had titled with threats against Altman and a list of other AI executives, investors, and board members.
The Anti-AI Manifesto
A document found on Moreno-Gama describes artificial intelligence as a threat to humanity and "our impending extinction," investigators said. The document also contained threats against Altman and listed other AI executives, investors, and board members. FBI agents searched his Texas home Monday for several hours, seizing additional evidence, according to CBS News.
The Charges
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins charged Moreno-Gama with two counts of attempted murder—one targeting Altman and one targeting a security guard—plus attempted arson and multiple explosives violations under state law. The state counts carry a potential sentence of 19 years to life. Federal prosecutors added charges of possessing an unregistered firearm and using explosives to damage property, carrying a combined maximum of 30 years with a mandatory minimum of five years on the explosives count alone.
The First Court Date
Moreno-Gama is scheduled to appear in San Francisco Superior Court Tuesday for arraignment on the state charges. No date has been set for his initial federal court appearance. Online court records do not yet list an attorney for him, and the federal public defender's office has not responded to messages seeking comment.
The Broader AI Backlash
U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian told reporters the Justice Department will prosecute the case as domestic terrorism if evidence shows Moreno-Gama sought to influence government or corporate AI policy through violence. The Future of Life Institute, which warns about AI risk, issued a statement Friday saying "violence and intimidation of any kind have no place in the conversation about the future of AI." Discord confirmed it banned Moreno-Gama's account Monday for "off-platform behavior," noting he had posted 34 messages in the PauseAI forum but none that explicitly urged violence.
Altman's Public Plea
Hours after the attack Altman published a family photo on his blog, writing, "Normally we try to be pretty private, but in this case I am sharing a photo in the hopes that it might dissuade the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at our house, no matter what they think about me." He acknowledged public anxiety over AI is "justified," yet urged critics to "de-escalate the rhetoric and tactics and try to have fewer explosions in fewer homes, figuratively and literally."
