Man Attempts To Serve CEO Of OpenAI Sam Altman A Subpoena While Speaking On Stage

This was interesting to watch.

An unidentified man attempted to serve OpenAI CEO Sam Altman while he was on stage at an event in San Francisco.

The moment was captured on video and shows a man getting on stage while Altman was speaking with Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.

A member of the security team quickly stopped the man and took the papers which was believed to be a subpoena.

Yahoo News provided more details on the incident:

An unidentified man tried to serve OpenAI CEO Sam Altman with an apparent subpoena Monday night, at the start of Altman’s appearance with Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco.

The man appeared on stage moments after Altman and Kerr sat down alongside Manny Yekutiel, the event’s organizer and a candidate for District 8 supervisor. The event, which attracted a live audience and also was streamed online via Zoom, was billed as a “conversation on leadership, innovation and San Francisco.”

Before the conversation could begin, the man interrupted Yekutiel, announced he had a subpoena for Altman and held aloft a piece of paper. Yekutiel stood in front of the man, as if to prevent him from approaching Altman.

Yekutiel took the piece of paper as multiple officials, apparently part of theater security, ushered the man off the stage. Yekutiel handed the paper to another official standing behind Altman, who was seated.

Altman and Kerr both appeared startled and confused by what was happening. The event soon started and lasted more than an hour, without any further incidents.

Watch the moment it went down here:

Sam Altman was subpoenaed on stage: pic.twitter.com/3WvwASWNBr

— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) November 7, 2025

CKH reported more details on the unusual incident:

In a surprising turn of events, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was hit with a subpoena during a public conversation in San Francisco. The subpoena was delivered by a man identifying himself as an employee of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. This action took place during a conversation with Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr, which caused a stir.

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The group Stop AI, known for its protests against the development of artificial intelligence, claimed responsibility for the action. She argues that the subpoena is part of a process to address the threat posed by AI to humanity. Members of the group have been arrested several times for blocking access to OpenAI offices.

Valerie Ibarra, spokeswoman for the public defender’s office, confirmed that the subpoena was lawful and that Altman was called as a potential witness in an ongoing criminal case. An attempt had previously been made to serve the subpoena at Altman’s headquarters, but this was unsuccessful.

The subpoena itself was not given to Altman directly, as the evening’s host, Manny Yekutiel, intervened and passed the document to a security guard. However, in California, a subpoena is considered served even if the person concerned does not physically receive the document.

Stop AI’s action highlights the growing concern about the impact of AI technologies. The group plans to discuss the potential dangers of AI in a trial before a jury. This development shows how controversial the topic of AI is discussed in public and what legal and ethical questions are associated with it.