Days after a 20-year-old man was arrested following a Molotov cocktail (petrol bomb) attack targeting the San Francisco residence of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, his defender Tuesday said that the accused, Daniel Moreno-Gama, was experiencing a mental health crisis, the Associated Press reported.
The attorney also said Moreno-Gama was autistic, as he appeared in the court for the first time since his arrest, bearing an unkempt look. Elaborating on his appearance, the AP noted him to have kept his gaze down during the brief hearing and softly answering “yes” when asked by the court whether he agreed to continue his arraignment.
Moreno-Gama is also facing federal charges for possession of an unregistered firearm and damage and destruction of property by means of explosives. These charges carry respective penalties of up to 10 years and 20 years in prison, AP noted.
San Francisco Judge Kenneth Wine ordered him held without bail and set his arraignment for May 5, according to the news agency.
The attack
According to authorities, the suspect, Moreno-Gama, allegedly threw an “incendiary destructive device” at Altman’s home, setting a part of an exterior gate on fire before fleeing. The San Francisco Police Department said the incident occurred around 4 am (local time) on Friday.
Less than an hour later, Moreno-Gama went to OpenAI’s headquarters and threatened to burn down the building as well, authorities said. They said he traveled to the city from Texas, AP highlighted.
No one was injured at Altman’s home or the company’s offices.
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What did accused’s defender and prosecutor say in court?
San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Diamond Ward called the case a “property crime, at best,” claiming that prosecutors were pursuing higher charges to court favor for the OpenAI CEO.
“It is unfair and is unjust for the San Francisco district attorney and the federal government to fearmonger and to exploit the mental illness of a vulnerable, young man by turning a vandalism case into an attempted murder, life exposure case to gain support of a billionaire, and to get political points at the expense of true justice for everyone involved,” Ward said, the report quoted.
Meanwhile, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins disagreed with Ward’s statement, saying Moreno-Gama carried out a “targeted attack on Mr. Altman” and that prosecutors had evidence to back up the charges.
She said prosecutors would act the same whether the victim was a “billionaire or a CEO or any average San Franciscan.”
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Moreno-Gama has been charged in California state court with two counts of attempted murder and attempted arson, for trying to kill both Altman and a security guard at Altman’s residence, Jenkins alleged. Officials have not shared whether Altman was home at the time, prosecutors told the court.
AP quoted her as saying: “Regardless of a victim’s status, they all deserve justice and they all deserve safety.”
Jenkins said the state charges carry penalties ranging from 19 years to life in prison, according to the report.
What did the accused’s parents say?
In a statement, Moreno-Gama’s parents said he had never harmed anyone and recently began to experience mental health issues.
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“We have been trying our best to address these issues and get him effective treatment, and we are very concerned for his well-being,” they said.
Accused’s hatred for AI
Moreno-Gama, who worked part-time at a pizzeria, and is an attendee at the community college, had expressed hatred for artificial intelligence (AI) through his writings, describing it as a danger to humanity and warning of “impending extinction,” authorities stated, according to court filings.
According to officials, the document in which Moreno-Gama discussed his opposition to AI also entailed threats against Altman and executives at other AI organizations.
“If I am going to advocate for others to kill and commit crimes, then I must lead by example and show that I am fully sincere in my message,” Moreno-Gama wrote, authorities quoted.
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FBI probe
Addressing a press conference on Monday, FBI San Francisco Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo called the attack “not spontaneous.” “This was planned, targeted and extremely serious,” Cobo told the reporters.
FBI agents also went to Moreno-Gama’s residence in a Houston suburb early Monday and spent several hours there before leaving.
“We will treat this as an act of domestic terrorism, and together with our partners, prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law,” US Attorney Craig Missakian stated.
Advocacy groups condemn violence
Advocacy groups, that continue to issue serious warnings about AI’s risks to society, have too condemned the violence.
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Issuing a statement, Anthony Aguirre, president and CEO of the Future of Life Institute, said that “violence and intimidation of any kind have no place in the conversation about the future of AI.”
Another group, PauseAI, said in a statement that the suspect had no role in the group but joined its forum on the social media platform Discord about 2 years ago and posted about 34 messages there, none containing explicit calls to violence.
However, it stated that one of the posts was flagged as “ambiguous.” Discord has banned Moreno-Gama for “off-platform behavior.”
