The athletic director of a suburban Baltimore high school allegedly used artificial intelligence to impersonate the principal and spew racist and anti-Semitic hate as part of an insane revenge plot.
Dazon Darien, 31, was arrested Thursday as he tried to board a flight to Houston.
“From the beginning, we have expressed concern about the disturbing audio that has shaken our communities here in Baltimore County, because the words go against everything we stand for,” said County Executive Johnny. Olszewski said. At a press conference.
“Hate has no place and no place in Baltimore County. Nor should it exist throughout our state or here in our country.”
The bizarre saga began in January, when disturbing audio appeared on social media that appeared to show Pikesville High School Principal Eric Eiswart disparaging students of color during a fake conversation with one of the school’s assistant principals. spread in the media.
In the video, Eiswart imitates Eiswart’s voice, saying that an African-American student could not “attempt to escape from a paper bag” and “should not have been employed by the school,” according to charging documents. He said he had two Jewish teachers. 2 Retrieved by WMAR.
As punishment, Eiswart was temporarily expelled from school, but he proclaimed his innocence and told police he believed the audio clips had been doctored using AI.
He even singled out Darien as the culprit, telling officials he was “tech savvy.”
Even more egregious, since Darien began his role as athletic director in July 2023, he has committed work-related violations, including firing the school’s longtime coach without approval and paying his roommate. There was a discussion about not renewing the contract for the next semester due to multiple issues. Despite not being on any team, he serves as an assistant coach.
“As a result of the investigation, detectives alleged that Mr. Darien, who was the high school’s athletic director, made the recordings in order to retaliate against the principal who initiated an investigation into possible student fraud,” Police Chief Robert McCollough said in a statement.
Experts from the FBI and the University of California, Berkeley ultimately linked Mr. Darien to an email account under the pseudonym TJ Faust with the fake audio, sending the fake recordings to his work email and to other teachers at the school. It is said that it was used for
During questioning by detectives, Darien reportedly admitted that he had “had a problem” with Eiswart during his short time at the school.
The man was arrested Friday at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport after authorities were alerted to a firearm improperly stored in his bag, officials said.
A background check revealed an arrest warrant filed the night before by Baltimore County authorities.
Investigators said it was still unclear whether he was attempting to flee to Texas or make an unrelated trip.
He was charged with several charges, including theft, stalking, interfering with school operations and retaliating against a witness. He was released on $5,000 unsecured bail.
Baltimore County Schools has since recommended that Principal Eiswart be fired, and now that his name has been cleared, there are hopes that Principal Eiswart will be reinstated.
