SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The attorney for the man accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at the home of Sam Altman last Friday says his actions were driven by a history of autism and mental illness.
Man charged in attack on OpenAI CEO’s San Francisco home
Twenty-year-old Daniel Moreno-Gama made his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco Superior Court but did not enter a plea. He faces two counts of attempted murder for the attack at Altman’s Russian Hill home, as well as charges of criminal threats and attempted arson for his alleged actions at OpenAI headquarters.
“Daniel’s actions appear to have been driven by an acute mental health crisis,” said Deputy Public Defender Diamond Ward.
Ward went on to criticize the district attorney for “overcharging” the case, saying it amounts to no more than a property crime at best.
“It is unfair and unjust for the San Francisco district attorney and the federal government to fearmonger and 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.
But San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins was quick to push back on those accusations.
“It doesn’t appear that this particular public defender has read the evidence in this case,” Jenkins said.
“It is very clear that this was a targeted attack on Mr. Altman. It wouldn’t matter if this was a billionaire or a CEO or any average San Franciscan,” she said. “If somebody comes 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.”
Jenkins also said she has no evidence Moreno-Gama has a mental illness and called it a fallback position when defense attorneys are facing a mountain of evidence.
“The evidence is clear,” Jenkins said. “Much of it is on video. We’ve got a manifesto, and so they are going to grasp for whatever defensive straws, for lack of a better term, that they can find.”
Prosecutors said an anti-AI manifesto was found on the defendant at the time of his arrest, and it included a list of targets in addition to Altman. A judge has issued a stay-away order to keep the defendant away from Altman and others on the list. Moreno-Gama did not enter a plea and will remain in jail until his next court date on May 5.
Late Tuesday, Moreno-Gama’s parents issued a statement saying in part, “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. He is a very caring person and has never been arrested before.”