A member of the anti-AI group Stop AI was found guilty of four misdemeanor charges and sentenced to two weeks in jail after blockading OpenAI headquarters last February, the group announced today at a press conference in front of City Hall.
Speaking to a crowd of about 20 protestors from the East Bay-based activist group, Wynd Kaufmyn, one of Stop AI’s lead organizers, said she was also ordered to pay “fines and fees,” which she can settle via 128 hours of community service, and to stay at least 20 yards away from OpenAI headquarters going forward. Rose Mishaan, Kaufmyn’s lawyer, said they plan to challenge the stay away order at the next court date.
Kaufmyn’s 14-day jail sentence will only actually land her in jail for seven days, Mishaan explained, because every day spent behind bars earns two days of jail-time credit. Kaufmyn will begin her time on August 14.
Kaufmyn was arrested for blocking the entrance to OpenAI offices in Mission Bay on February 22, 2025, after which the District Attorney charged her with four misdemeanors, including trespassing, unlawful assembly, obstructing business operations, and not dispersing at the scene of a riot. The jury found her guilty on all counts; Mishaan said Judge Michael Begert dismissed the business interference charge “because of first amendment issues.”
Dressed in a black coat, red dress, and red sandals to match Stop AI’s signature colors, Kaufmyn said she was surprised the jury found her guilty on all four counts “given the testimony we had from [expert witness] Stuart Russell,” a UC Berkeley professor and AI researcher who has long sounded alarms about the social and economic impacts of unchecked AI development.
“It really made me disappointed in humans,” Kaufmyn said. She said she remains undeterred, and will continue to organize even during her days in jail.
Stop AI is a loosely organized group of anti-AI activists who use nonviolent protests to demand a permanent, international ban on the development of AI, which they believe will likely lead to human extinction. The group has received scattered media attention focused on the higher profile protests undertaken by some of their members, including one member’s hunger strike outside of Anthropic headquarters last fall. Still, the organization has struggled to gain traction for its campaign in San Francisco, despite growing public outcry against data center construction and risks posed by AI.
Since 2024, several Stop AI members have been arrested for blockades of AI offices and other protests. Kaufmyn is the first to stand trial in San Francisco.
Even before she was barred from coming within 20 yards of OpenAI offices, Kaufmyn said she and her co-organizers were beginning to shift their focus away from executives at AI companies and toward the legislators inside City Hall.
“We’ve already started doing demonstrations outside of City Hall because, really, they’re the ones that need to stop those companies,” Kaufmyn said.
Kaufmyn said she and her compatriots plan to bring their cause to the supervisors. She said she has her sights set on District 8 supervisor and board president Rafael Mandelman, whom she said she first met when she was a professor and labor organizer at the City College of San Francisco, where he was a member of the board. Years ago, Kaufmyn said, Mandelman even attended her “very special” divorce party.
“I hope we can convince all of the supervisors” to join Stop AI’s cause, Kaufmyn said, “but I’m especially hoping for Rafael because I have such a warm place in my heart for him.”
