Man accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO’s home asks to delay arraignment

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — The man accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and threatening to burn down the company headquarters appeared in state court for the first time Tuesday, asking a judge to continue his arraignment.

Daniel Alejandro Moreno-Gama, 20, of Houston, Texas, faces eight state charges, including two counts of attempted murder, attempted arson and possession of an incendiary device in connection with the attack on Altman’s house on April 10.

State prosecutors also charged him with attempted criminal threats, possession of a flammable or combustible substance and attempted arson of an occupied building in connection with his reported attack on OpenAI’s headquarters.

At his arraignment, Moreno-Gama appeared with his attorneys, Diamond Ward and Nuha Abusamra, deputy public defenders at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. Assistant District Attorney Heather Trevisan also attended the hearing.

San Francisco Judge Kenneth Wine granted Moreno-Gama’s request to postpone the arraignment, setting a new date of May 5. He is being held without bail.

Wine also granted the state’s request for a protective order, calling the charges against Moreno-Gama “extraordinarily bad.”

Moreno-Gama also faces federal charges of attempted damage and destruction of property by means of explosives and possession of an unregistered firearm.

State prosecutors claim Moreno-Gama traveled from Texas to San Francisco with the intention of killing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. They say he traveled with a knife, a gun, ammunition and a list of targets, as well as acquired multiple containers of kerosene to carry out his plan.

They further claim Moreno-Gama acquired, or made, a Molotov cocktail and brought it to Altman’s residence in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco around 3:30 a.m. on April 10, lit the device and threw it, causing a fire on the top of the driveway gate.

Then, prosecutors say Moreno-Gama traveled around three miles across the city to OpenAI headquarters and attempted to break into the building with a chair, threatening to burn it down, before he was arrested by San Francisco Police.

Prosecutors say in the federal criminal complaint that police found Moreno-Gama in possession of incendiary devices, a jug of kerosene, a blue lighter and a document seemingly written by Moreno-Gama that advocated against artificial intelligence and the executives of AI companies, including Altman.

In the document, Moreno-Gama says he killed or attempted to kill Altman and listed names and addresses reportedly belonging to board members and CEOs of other AI companies and investors, according to the federal prosecutors.

He also discussed the purported risk AI poses to humanity and addressed Altman directly, stating, “If by some miracle you live, then I would take this as a sign from the divine to redeem yourself…”

Outside the courtroom, Moreno-Gama’s attorneys characterized him as a “young man with a history of autism and mental health illness” and that his actions appear to be motivated by an “acute mental health crisis.”

They also argued the district attorney was overcharging the case as attempted murder, rather than a property crime, to “gain support of a billionaire and get political points.”

“By charging Daniel as they have, the district attorney’s office is clearly not interested in looking at what happened, but rather contributing to the sensationalized media around this case, specifically because of who the complaining witness is,” Ward said.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins disputed the overcharging accusation, saying the evidence is “very clear that this was an attack on Mr. Altman.”

“It wouldn’t matter if this was a billionaire, or CEO, or any average San Franciscan, if somebody was here with the intent to commit murder and attempts to effectuate that murder, that is a case that we will take extremely seriously, and we will charge accordingly,” she said.

Jenkins also dismissed the defense’s mental health argument, saying there was no evidence that Moreno-Gama was suffering from mental health issues.

“At this point in time, I see somebody who understood what he believed his mission to be, and sought diligently to carry out that mission. So even if that is their defense, we are prepared to fight vigorously against it.”

But Moreno-Gama’s parents said in a statement through the public defender that they’ve been trying to get their son help.

“Our son Daniel is a loving person who has been suffering recently from a mental illness crisis. We have been trying our best to address these issues and get him effective treatment, and we are very concerned for his wellbeing,” the parents said. “He is a very caring person and has never been arrested before. Until very recently, he was working hard at a restaurant and attending college classes. He has never harmed anyone. We hope people can respect our privacy during this very difficult time as his legal case proceeds.”

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