In the early hours of 10 April, a man approached the gate of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s house in San Francisco and hurled a molotov cocktail at the building before fleeing.

The suspect, 20-year-old Daniel Moreno-Gama, was arrested less than two hours later while allegedly attempting to break into the headquarters of OpenAI with a jug of kerosene, a lighter and an anti-AI manifesto.

Federal and California state authorities have charged Moreno-Gama with a range of crimes including attempted arson and attempted murder.

His parents issued a statement this week saying that their son had recently suffered a mental health crisis.

Moreno-Gama, who has not yet entered a plea, faces up to life in prison if convicted.

The targeting of Altman and OpenAI took place as widespread discontent against artificial intelligence grows, and is the most prominent attack so far against a person or business related to the technology.

Moreno-Gama had a history of posting anti-AI sentiment online, in one case suggesting “Luigi-ing some tech CEOs” in a reference to Luigi Mangione, who is on trial for the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive.

Altman addressed the incident, as well as an unflattering recent New Yorker profile of him and criticism of AI in a blogpost last weekend.

He called for a de-escalation of the debate around artificial intelligence and shared a photo of his family, including his infant daughter.

“Images have power, I hope.

Normally we try to be pretty private, but in this case I am sharing a photo 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 posted.

Two days after the molotov cocktail incident, San Francisco police arrested two people after they allegedly fired shots from a car outside of Altman’s home.

Authorities released the pair from custody on Thursday and have not charged either with a crime.

The San Francisco district attorney’s office has stated further investigation is under way to determine if it will press charges, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

What happened in the attack on Altman’s home Moreno-Gama allegedly traveled from his home in a suburb of Houston, Texas, to San Francisco to carry out the attack, according to the federal criminal complaint against him.

Surveillance images from Altman’s home show the alleged assailant walking up the driveway with a flaming molotov cocktail in one hand and throwing it at the house.

The firebomb bounced off the building and no one was harmed, Altman wrote in his blogpost, adding that the attack took place at 3.45am.

After leaving Altman’s house, Moreno-Gama showed up about 3 miles (5km) away at OpenAI’s headquarters around 5am.

He reportedly attempted to smash the entrance doors with a chair before the building’s security confronted him.

Moreno-Gama then told security that he planned to burn the building down and kill anyone who was inside, according to the complaint.

When officers from the San Francisco police department arrived at the scene and arrested Moreno-Gama, they allegedly found incendiary devices, kerosene and a document that condemned AI and called for the killing of CEOs involved with the technology.

Moreno-Gama’s manifesto contained three sections, the complaint stated.

The first, entitled “Your Last Warning”, included a vow to kill a list of AI CEOs, board members and investors.

The second described “our impending destruction” and the threat of AI wiping out humanity.

The document’s last section was directly addressed to Altman, saying that if he survived the attack that he should take it as a divine sign to redeem himself.

Federal authorities described the attack as an escalation of violence against big tech and vowed to use the full force of law enforcement to prevent any acts of....