OpenAI staff at the company’s San Francisco office were instructed to remain inside on Friday afternoon after the organization received a threat from an individual who had earlier been connected to the Stop AI activist movement. An internal Slack post from the communications team said, “Our information indicates that [name] from StopAI has expressed interest in causing physical harm to OpenAI employees,” and added, “He has previously been on site at our San Francisco facilities.”
Shortly before 11 a.m., San Francisco police took a 911 call reporting a man allegedly making threats and saying he intended to harm others at 550 Terry Francois Boulevard, an address near OpenAI’s Mission Bay offices, according to data tracked by the crime app Citizen. A police scanner recording archived on the app names the suspect and alleges he may have purchased weapons with the intention of targeting additional OpenAI locations.
Hours earlier the person law enforcement flagged posted on social media that he was no longer part of Stop AI. The social post came from an account that has been active around past demonstrations tied to multiple AI protest groups.
Stop AI posted a statement on X disavowing the alleged actions and saying the organization is “deeply committed to nonviolence.” The group’s message arrived as staff and security teams continued to work through the alert and review what had been shared internally.
Reporters attempted to contact the man identified in the police and app postings but did not immediately receive a response. San Francisco police did not immediately reply to requests for comment. OpenAI had not issued a public statement before this report was published.
Inside the company Slack channel, the internal communications team shared three images of the man suspected of making threats. A senior member of the global security team later wrote, “At this time, there is no indication of active threat activity, the situation remains ongoing, and we’re taking measured precautions as the assessment continues.” Employees were told to remove their badges when exiting the building and to avoid wearing clothing items with the OpenAI logo.
Company security and local officers coordinated to review the tip and keep staff informed. The images and the Slack thread were routed to teams responsible for facilities and global security. Those teams advised steps for safe movement in and around the office as the report stayed under assessment.
Over the past couple of years, protesters affiliated with groups calling themselves Stop AI, No AGI, and Pause AI have demonstrated outside San Francisco offices of several AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, to press concerns that the unchecked development of advanced AI could pose risks to people. In February, demonstrators were arrested after they locked the front doors to OpenAI’s Mission Bay office.
Earlier this month StopAI said its public defender was the man who jumped onstage to try to subpoena OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during an onstage interview in San Francisco. That onstage episode drew broad attention and intensified questions about security at public events involving tech executives.
A Pause AI press release from last year described the individual that police named in Friday’s report as an organizer. The release quoted him saying he would find “life not worth living” if AI technologies were to replace humans in making scientific discoveries and taking over jobs. “Pause AI may be viewed as radical amongst AI people and techies,” he said. “But it is not radical amongst the general public, and neither is stopping AGI development altogether.”
The police scanner capture and related social posts moved quickly through internal channels and local observers, prompting immediate coordination between OpenAI’s security teams and San Francisco law enforcement. Security officials reviewed the material that had been shared inside the company as they worked to confirm details and determine next steps.
Update 11/22/25 2pm ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from Stop AI.