A 20-year-old man was arrested after allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman’s San Francisco home before later showing up at OpenAI headquarters and threatening to burn the building down.
Police told ABC 7 Eyewitness News that the attack happened around 4 a.m. at Altman’s residence in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood. According to dispatch audio, the suspect allegedly hurled “a Molotov cocktail slash sticky bomb” at the gate of the property before fleeing on foot. No one was injured, and the fire was contained before it spread.
Roughly an hour later, officers were called to OpenAI’s offices after security reported that a man carrying a jug and claiming it contained kerosene was threatening to set the building on fire. Police recognized him as the same person connected to the earlier incident and took him into custody.
In a statement, OpenAI said it was working with investigators and thanked the police for responding quickly. “We deeply appreciate how quickly SFPD responded and the support from the city in helping keep our employees safe,” the company said.
Hours after the attack, Altman addressed the incident in a blog post that included a photo of his family. He wrote that he shared the image “in the hopes that it might dissuade the next person from throwing a Molotov cocktail at our house, no matter what they think about me.”
Altman also called for a less inflammatory public conversation around artificial intelligence, writing that “we should de-escalate the rhetoric and tactics and try to have fewer explosions in fewer homes, figuratively and literally.”
Authorities have not yet announced what charges the Molotov cocktail suspect could face, and investigators are still trying to determine a motive. According to officials, it could take days before prosecutors decide whether the case will be handled locally or federally.
The FBI is assisting the San Francisco Police Department, while OpenAI says there is no immediate threat to employees or its offices.
The attempted attack comes just about a week after Altman returned to court over a separate and deeply personal controversy. Earlier this month, his sister, Annie Altman, filed an amended civil lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing her between 1997 and 2006 when they were growing up in Missouri. She alleges the abuse began when she was 3 years old, and Altman was 12.
The new complaint was filed after a federal judge ruled that her earlier lawsuit could potentially proceed under Missouri’s childhood sexual abuse law, even though her original assault and battery claims had expired under the standard statute of limitations.
Altman has denied the allegations and is countersuing his sister for defamation.
In that countersuit, Altman claims his sister fabricated the allegations after the family refused her requests for financial support. His legal team has pointed to social media posts and videos she published about the alleged abuse.
Annie Altman’s attorney, meanwhile, said the judge’s earlier ruling was procedural and “has no bearing on the substance” of her claims.
The case remains active in federal court.
If you or someone you know has suffered from sexual abuse, help is available. Contact the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673 or visit RAINN Support Resources for confidential support.
