Anti-AI Groups Pause AI and Stop AI Face Scrutiny Following Alleged Attack on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Home

An attempted firebombing occurred at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's home in San Francisco on April 10, 2026. The suspect, 20-year-old Daniel Moreno-Gama, allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at the residence. Moreno-Gama also went to OpenAI's headquarters, attempted to shatter its glass doors with a chair, and threatened to burn the facility, according to police reports.

The organizations condemned the violence. Moreno-Gama's activity on Pause AI's public Discord server, including a December 3, 2025, post stating "We are close to midnight, it’s time to actually act," has led to renewed examination of the groups.

Background on Pause AI Pause AI was founded in Utrecht, Netherlands, in May 2023 by Joep Meindertsma.

The group seeks to halt development of what it describes as dangerous frontier AI. Its first protest took place outside Microsoft's lobbying office in Brussels. The organization's name draws from an open letter by the Future of Life Institute in March 2023, which is now its largest single funder.

Pause AI has expanded into a global grassroots movement with local chapters, including Pause AI US, led by Holly Elmore based in Berkeley, California. D. in evolutionary biology from Harvard and previously worked at a think tank on wildlife animal welfare.

Pause AI reported that Moreno-Gama joined its Discord server two years ago and posted 34 messages, none of which contained explicit calls to violence. The server is public and global, separate from Pause AI US's organizing channels. Elmore stated that the group vets volunteers and maintains control over its messaging to avoid association with extreme views.