A 20-year-old man who allegedly hurled a Molotov cocktail at the California home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman intended to assassinate the tech executive, federal prosecutors announced Monday. The revelation came as the U.S. Department of Justice filed federal charges against Daniel Moreno-Gama, who traveled from his home in Texas to San Francisco to carry out the attack on Friday.
According to court documents, Moreno-Gama threw a makeshift firebomb at the gates of Altman’s luxury residence before fleeing on foot to OpenAI’s corporate headquarters. There, he allegedly attempted to shatter the building’s glass doors using a chair. When police arrived at the scene, they reported finding Moreno-Gama in possession of a jug of kerosene, a lighter, and a handwritten document titled “Your Last Warning.”
Prosecutors describe the document as a manifesto explicitly advocating violence against artificial intelligence companies, their chief executives, and their investors. It included an admission that the defendant intended to kill Altman. The note ended with a chilling warning: “If by some miracle you live, then I would take this as a sign from the divine to redeem yourself.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche condemned the attack in strong terms, stating that violence cannot become an acceptable means of expressing disagreement, whether over politics, technology, or any other matter. “These alleged actions – which damaged property and could well have taken lives – will be aggressively prosecuted,” Blanche said.
Altman, whose company developed the widely popular ChatGPT chatbot, was not injured in the attack. OpenAI has not issued a detailed public response, though security has reportedly been increased at both Altman’s residence and the company’s headquarters.
The incident has reignited concerns about the rising hostility directed at leaders in the artificial intelligence sector, as rapid technological advancements continue to provoke intense public debate. Moreno-Gama remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing. If convicted on the charges, which include attempted murder and use of an explosive device, he could face decades in prison. Authorities have not yet disclosed a possible motive beyond the contents of the manifesto.
