San Francisco Activist Jailed Over 2025 Protest at OpenAI Headquarters
A retired teacher began serving a short jail sentence after a jury convicted her over a 2025 protest that blocked access to OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters.
In short
- A retired teacher began serving a short jail sentence after a jury convicted her over a 2025 protest that blocked access to OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters.
A California activist began serving a jail sentence on August 14, 2026, after a jury convicted her of misdemeanor offenses linked to a 2025 protest that blocked the entrance to OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters.
Wynd Kaufmyn, a 69-year-old retired teacher from Berkeley, took part in a February 2025 action in which members of the group StopAI chained and locked the building’s front doors. She surrendered to authorities on Friday after being convicted in June of interfering with a business, trespassing with intent to interfere with a business, unlawful assembly and refusing to disperse.
Kaufmyn argued that the protest was necessary because of what she considers the risks of developing artificial superintelligence. The jury rejected that defense. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the verdict showed that protesters could not endanger public safety in pursuit of their aims.
Supporters believe Kaufmyn may be the first person jailed specifically for an anti-artificial-intelligence protest, although that distinction has not been established by an official registry. Her case comes amid widening public debate over AI safety, regulation and the pace of development at leading laboratories.
StopAI says it pursues nonviolent direct action and calls for a halt to the race toward superintelligence. OpenAI was approached for comment by the source publication.
