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Investigation began after the FBI passed on to the Brazilian Ministry of Justice information obtained through OpenAI, the company responsible for ChatGPT, about a concrete risk of violence
A 36-year-old man was preventively arrested in Espírito Santo after conversations held with an artificial intelligence revealed a plan that included killing his own son and promoting attacks against schools, churches, and public authorities. The case, which mobilized security forces at different levels, originated from an international alert forwarded through cooperation channels between Brazil and the United States.
According to the Civil Police of Espírito Santo, the suspect detailed, in messages exchanged with the artificial intelligence, plans that involved hiring a hitman to kill his own child, from a previous relationship. According to the investigation, the motivation was related to the intention of preventing his ex-partner from claiming child support from the child’s paternal grandmother after his death.
The information was released this Friday, June 26, 2026, by the portal ND Mais, based on official data provided by the Civil Police of Espírito Santo. As reported, the preventive arrest was carried out in the rural area of the municipality of São Gabriel da Palha, in the interior of Espírito Santo.
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How the FBI alert reached Brazilian authorities
The process that culminated in the arrest began outside Brazil. According to delegate Ícaro Olímpio, responsible for the Specialized Cybercrime Repression Police Station (DRCC) of Espírito Santo, the FBI identified, through cooperation mechanisms with OpenAI — the company responsible for developing ChatGPT —, content indicating a concrete and imminent risk of violence.
Given the seriousness of the information, the U.S. investigative body passed the data to the Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The ministry, in turn, directed the case to the Civil Police of Espírito Santo, initiating the local investigation.
In this regard, the delegate highlighted that this type of international cooperation has become increasingly relevant in light of the growing use of artificial intelligence in people’s daily lives. According to him, digital platforms maintain specific protocols to identify and report situations where users demonstrate an intention to commit serious crimes or put lives at risk — even if the interaction occurs in a private conversation environment with AI.
However, the speed of the authorities’ response was crucial for the outcome of the case. According to the investigation, the attacks were planned to occur on June 20. The Civil Police managed to execute the preventive arrest warrants and search and seizure orders before the date set by the suspect, preventing, according to the authorities, the realization of the planned crimes.
Suspect maintained weaponry and reported intention to attack public institutions
During the investigations, the Civil Police found that the suspect claimed to possess, in addition to a firearm, other items associated with the plan described in conversations with artificial intelligence — among them, a rope and a substance identified as cyanide. According to the delegate, the analyzed messages indicated, besides the intention to kill his own son, the desire to carry out attacks against schools, churches, and public authorities in the region.
On the other hand, the Civil Police emphasized that the case illustrates the challenges faced by security forces in the face of threats identified in digital environments. During a press conference, Delegate Ícaro Olímpio highlighted the importance of preventive action: “We had enough to be able to prevent, to be able to avoid this serious crime that was about to happen,” he stated.
Furthermore, according to the delegate, messages sent to digital platforms — including private interactions with artificial intelligence systems — can be shared with authorities whenever there are indications of a concrete threat to life or public safety. The statement reinforces a movement that is gaining strength globally: technology companies acting as part of the network to prevent serious crimes, especially those related to large-scale violence plans.
Cases like this, therefore, highlight a significant change in how threats are identified and neutralized in the digital age. As artificial intelligence tools become increasingly present in people’s daily lives, episodes like the one that occurred in Espírito Santo reinforce the relevance of cooperation between technology companies and security forces — a model that, according to the authorities, was decisive in preventing a tragedy of great proportions before it materialized.
