The 20-year-old suspect arrested after the Molotov cocktail attack on Sam Altman’s $27 million home participated in a Discord server critical of AI development.
PauseAI said the suspect, identified by several outlets as Daniel Alejandro Moreno-Gama, joined its server two years ago. The nonprofit organization is focused on temporarily pausing the development of frontier AI models — like OpenAI’s GPT-5.4 — and mitigating the risks they pose.
“Violence against anyone is antithetical to everything we stand for,” the statement on its website.
The organization said Moreno-Gama posted a total of 34 messages in the Discord server, though none of those messages “contained explicit calls to violence.”
“He had no role in PauseAI, participated in no campaigns, attended no events, and received no support from us,” the statement said. “Following news of the attack, we banned him from our server.”
A moderator began removing his messages following news of the attack, but stopped when they realized they could be relevant to the investigation.
“Our Discord server is a public community space. As with any open forum, people can join freely,” the statement said. “We actively moderate our channels and take enforcement seriously, as our warning to this individual demonstrates. But we cannot predict or control the actions of every person who joins a public server; no organisation can.”
Authorities in San Francisco booked Moreno-Gama at 12:47 p.m. on Friday, and he’s facing several charges. The charges include arson of an inhabited structure or property and attempted murder.
A San Francisco Police Department spokesperson said officers responded to a North Beach residence just after 4 a.m. local time to investigate a fire. The fire was contained to the exterior gate, and there were no injuries, according to the spokesperson.
The suspect fled the scene on foot. His description was later broadcast to all SFPD officers.
Around 5:07 a.m., officers responded to OpenAI’s office, where they said a man was threatening to burn down the building. The spokesperson said officers realized the man matched the description of the person who threw the Molotov cocktail at Altman’s house.
An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the attack in a statement.
“Early this morning, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman’s home and also made threats at our San Francisco headquarters. Thankfully, no one was hurt. We deeply appreciate how quickly SFPD responded and the support from the city in helping keep our employees safe,” the OpenAI spokesperson said.
Altman responded to the incident in a blog post on Friday, featuring a photo of his husband, Oliver Mulherin, and their son.
“I empathize with anti-technology sentiments and clearly technology isn’t always good for everyone. But overall, I believe technological progress can make the future unbelievably good, for your family and mine,” he wrote. “While we have that debate, we should de-escalate the rhetoric and tactics and try to have fewer explosions in fewer homes, figuratively and literally.”
The incident occurred about five months after OpenAI told employees at its headquarters to shelter in place due to a reported threat, which prompted a police response. The threat came from an individual linked to an anti-AI activist group.
OpenAI has become a major player in the tech scene, thrusting Altman into the global spotlight. The billionaire has met with many global leaders, including President Donald Trump, and has become an industry titan.
However, public opinion on AI has shifted since the company released ChatGPT in 2022. Concerns over how AI will affect the workforce have caused protests, and OpenAI’s deal with the Pentagon drew criticism.
Tech companies spend millions of dollars to protect their founders. A SEC filing said Tesla incurred about $2.4 million in expenses for such security services in 2023 and about $0.5 million through February 2024, representing a portion of the total cost of security services related to Elon Musk. Facebook spent $20.4 million protecting CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2019.
It’s unclear how much OpenAI spends on Altman’s security.
