Technology

Florida attorney general issues subpoenas in OpenAI criminal probe

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by Max Rego - 04/21/26 3:44 PM ET

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by Max Rego - 04/21/26 3:44 PM ET

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Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) on Tuesday launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI and its chatbot, serving the company with subpoenas.

Uthmeier, who initially opened a probe into OpenAI and ChatGPT earlier this month, said at a news conference that the individual accused of fatally shooting two people at Florida State University (FSU) last April communicated with ChatGPT before the incident.

Two individuals, 57-year-old Robert Morales and 45-year-old Tiru Chabba, were killed in the attack.

Uthmeier noted that prior to allegedly carrying out the shooting, the man accused in the case was “advised” by the chatbot on what type of gun to use, which ammo went with which gun, whether or not a gun would be useful in short range, what time of day would be appropriate to interact with more people and where on FSU’s campus he would encounter a higher population.

Given that, the attorney general said that his prosecutors told him that “if it was a person on the other end of that screen, we would be charging them” with murder. Under Florida law, anyone who aids, abets or counsels someone in the commission of a crime may be considered a principal in the first degree.

“Technology, AI, is supposed to support mankind, it is supposed to help mankind, it is supposed to advance mankind, not end it,” Uthmeier remarked. “And unfortunately, what we’ve seen in our initial review is that ChatGPT offered significant advice to the shooter before he committed such heinous crimes.”

The attorney general said his office subpoenaed OpenAI for all policies and internal training materials from March 1, 2024, through April 17 of this year regarding user threats of harm to others, user threats of harm to self and cooperation with law enforcement, including policies for the reporting of past, present or future crimes.

The Office of Statewide Prosecution also subpoenaed the company for organizational charts and listings of all ChatGPT employees from March 1 and Oct. 1, 2024, and April 17, 2025 — the day the shooting occurred.

The Hill has reached out to OpenAI for comment. Earlier this month, a spokesperson for the company told The Hill that it would “cooperate” with Uthmeier’s probe.

“We build ChatGPT to understand people’s intent and respond in a safe and appropriate way, and we continue improving our technology,” the spokesperson added.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has pushed for state-level regulations on AI, putting him at odds with President Trump.

In December, Trump signed an executive order aimed at preempting state laws that regulate the technology in favor of federal standards, while DeSantis rolled out a “Citizen Bill of Rights” for AI that same month.

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