OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's public discussion with Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr took a bizarre turn on Monday night when a man suddenly ran onto the stage at San Francisco's Sydney Goldstein Theater and handed Altman a subpoena, according to reports. The tense moment unfolded minutes into the sold-out event hosted by civic organizer Manny Yekutiel.
A man sitting in the second row suddenly jumped onto the stage with a document and shouted that he had a subpoena for Altman, SFGATE said. Yekutiel quickly stepped in, took the paper from the man, and passed it to a theater security guard, who escorted the intruder out as the crowd booed.
Bolt from the Blue
Altman stayed in his seat during the incident, looking surprised but completely unharmed. The following day, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Public Defender's Office revealed that the man who rushed the stage was actually one of their investigators.
"An investigator from the San Francisco Public Defender's Office lawfully served a subpoena on Mr. Altman because he is a potential witness in a pending criminal case," spokesperson Valerie Ibarra said in a statement to SFGATE.
"Our investigators first made several prior attempts to serve the subpoena at Altman's company headquarters and via its online portal."
The activist group Stop AI, known for holding several protests outside OpenAI's headquarters, later claimed responsibility for the incident.
In a post on X, the group wrote that one of their public defenders had managed to serve Sam Altman with a subpoena, requiring him to testify at their upcoming trial. They explained that the case involves their previous non-violent demonstrations, including blocking the entrance and the road in front of OpenAI's offices on multiple occasions.
"All of our non-violent actions against OpenAI were an attempt to slow OpenAI down in their attempted murder of everyone and every living thing on earth."
Completely Taken Aback
Stop AI said that several of its members are set to stand trial this month in San Francisco Superior Court on charges of trespassing and obstruction linked to their previous protests. The group described the case as an opportunity to raise public awareness about what they call "AI's extinction threat."
Lucie Faulknor, the house manager at the Sydney Goldstein Theater, told the San Francisco Standard that she personally escorted the man out. She said he was calm and simply remarked that he had done what he came to do.
Yekutiel later suggested the whole thing appeared to be a staged stunt, pointing out that the envelope was covered in scribbles and the man looked like he was wearing a costume.
Under California law, a subpoena can still be considered legally served even if the recipient refuses to physically take the papers, as long as they are shown and left within sight.
The brief disruption momentarily overshadowed Altman's wide-ranging talk, which touched on topics such as income inequality, the future of AI, and OpenAI's controversial content moderation policies.
At one point, Altman reflected on the criticism he received over his October 14 post celebrating that ChatGPT could now generate erotic content for verified adults. He admitted the post was "one of my dumbest mistakes of the year," explaining that while the change was intended to give adults "a huge degree of individual freedom, he wished he had chosen "a better example" to illustrate it.
The policy change came just a day after Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have placed new restrictions on AI tools to better protect minors — a timing that sparked quick backlash. Lawmakers and parents alike mocked and criticized the move online.
