Twisted messages expose real reason tech titan’s mansion was firebombed — and who inspired it

The 20-year-old who threw a Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home was inspired by Luigi Mangione and believed AI will destroy humanity, texts reveal.

Messages, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, show Daniel Moreno-Gama talked about “Luigi’ing tech CEOs” in online conversations with producers of “The Last Invention” podcast — hosted by Andy Mills and Gregory Warner, which explores the history and future of artificial intelligence.

However, earlier this year, when the Texas college student recorded the podcast, he said he didn’t mean it literally.

“I understand the frustration with a person who might advocate for that, but it’s not practical,” Moreno-Gama said. “It’s not worth it.”

Mangione is the 27-year-old former valedictorian and Ivy League graduate accused of murdering CEO Brian Thompson in New York City on December 4, 2024.

He was arrested in Pennsylvania after a national manhunt and has pleaded not guilty. His New York state trial is set for September 8, with a federal trial expected in late 2026 or early 2027.

Moreno-Gama did not enter a plea last week to charges of attempting to kill Altman.

Federal prosecutors said Moreno-Gama, of Spring, Texas, carried a three-part manifesto when he traveled to the Bay Area to carry out attacks on Altman’s home and OpenAI’s headquarters. His Texas home was raided by the FBI on Monday.

In part one of the screed, titled “Your Last Warning,” he wrote: “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,” according to federal charging documents.

Moreno-Gama also had a list of the “names and addresses of apparent board members and chief executive officers of AI companies and investors,” prosecutors said.

In the manifesto’s second part, titled “Some more words on the matter of our impending extinction,” Moreno-Gama “discussed the purported risk AI poses to humanity,” according to charging documents.

The third part included a letter to Altman that read: “If by some miracle you live, then I would take this as a sign from the divine to redeem yourself…”

In response, the tech giant released a statement with a picture of his husband and child, which he said was meant to deter copycats.

Cops said the incendiary device Moreno-Gama threw at Altman’s home failed to ignite the property and instead exploded at the front gate. Less than an hour later, Moreno-Gama showed up at OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters, where surveillance video allegedly shows him trying to smash the building’s front windows.

He is scheduled to return to court May 5 at 9 a.m., when he is expected to face formal charges.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said her office will seek to keep him in custody without bail due to the public safety risk he poses. He will be prosecuted separately on federal charges.

If convicted on the state charges, Moreno-Gama faces life in prison.

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