Man who threw Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman's home and carried AI CEO kill list pleads not guilty to attempted murder
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He carried a kill list of AI CEOs and a jug of kerosene. His lawyer called it a property crime. The charges carry life in prison.
May 5, 2026 - 7:17 pm
TL;DR
The 20-year-old who threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman’s home and carried a kill list of AI CEOs pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. His defence called it a property crime. The state charges carry up to life in prison.
Daniel Moreno-Gama, the 20-year-old accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the San Francisco home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and then walking three miles to OpenAI’s headquarters to threaten to burn the building down, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to two counts of attempted murder and nine other state charges. Moreno-Gama, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, did not speak during the brief arraignment in San Francisco Superior Court. His attorney entered the pleas on his behalf and requested a mental health evaluation, which the judge granted.
The defence described the incident as “a property crime, at best” and accused prosecutors of trying to curry favour with Altman. The state charges carry penalties ranging from 19 years to life in prison. Federal prosecutors have filed separate charges for possession of an unregistered firearm and attempted destruction of property by means of explosives, carrying a combined maximum of 30 additional years.
The case has become the most visible expression of a backlash against artificial intelligence that has escalated from protest signs to physical violence in less than two years.
The attack
Police arrested Moreno-Gama in the early hours of 10 April after he allegedly hurled a lit incendiary device at the driveway gate of Altman’s San Francisco residence at approximately 4 a.m., setting the gate alight. No one was injured. Altman was home at the time, and a security guard was stationed at the property. Moreno-Gama fled on foot and, less than an hour later, arrived at OpenAI’s offices on Third Street, where he allegedly attempted to break the glass doors with a chair and threatened to burn down the building.
San Francisco police officers who responded found him in possession of additional incendiary devices, a jug of kerosene, a blue lighter, and a document entitled “Your Last Warning.”
The document, written by Moreno-Gama according to court filings, advocated for the killing of AI company executives and their investors. It listed names and addresses that purported to belong to multiple CEOs and investors in the AI industry. Moreno-Gama described artificial intelligence as a threat to humanity’s survival and warned of “impending extinction.”
He had travelled from Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston, where he works part-time at a pizzeria and attends community college. The FBI later conducted searches at his Texas home.
The second attack
Two days after the Molotov cocktail, gunshots were fired at Altman’s home from a passing car. A 25-year-old and a 23-year-old were arrested. The San Francisco District Attorney’s office said it had no evidence that the two incidents were connected, but the proximity in time and target made the distinction feel academic.