In a bizarre turn of events that sounds like it was ripped straight from a Hollywood script, a former athletic director turned educator at a Baltimore-area high school has landed himself in hot water after allegedly using artificial intelligence to create a fake video of the school’s principal making racist and anti-Semitic remarks. The plot thickened when this twisted attempt at blackmail backfired spectacularly, resulting in the arrest of the now-former athletic director, Dazhon Darien.
The scandal erupted when audio recordings surfaced, seemingly capturing Pikesville High School principal Eric Eiswert spewing hateful rhetoric towards students and staff. Eiswert was promptly suspended from his position as the recordings, filled with racial slurs and violent language, made the rounds on a popular Baltimore meme account. Suspicion quickly turned to Darien, who was dramatically apprehended at Baltimore-Washington International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Houston with a gun in his possession.
While the use of AI to fabricate the incriminating material was a central part of the scandal, the charges brought against Darien did not directly involve the creation of deepfakes, as Maryland lacks specific legislation on nonconsensual deepfake creation. Instead, the 31-year-old educator faces charges of disrupting school operations, retaliation, stalking, and theft. Darien’s alleged misdeeds came to light after Eiswert initiated an investigation into suspicious payments directed to Darien’s roommate under the guise of school-related work.
In his ill-conceived attempt at blackmail, Darien left a trail of digital breadcrumbs that led straight back to him. Reports indicate that he used school computers to search for AI tools and even tied a third-party email address used to send the fabricated recordings to his personal phone number. As the fake audio clips went viral after being leaked by another teacher to a student, the fallout was swift and severe, triggering widespread outrage and demands for Eiswert’s removal from the school.
According to charging documents reviewed by the Baltimore Banner, Darien’s actions had far-reaching consequences, not just for Eiswert but for the entire Pikesville High community. The fallout from the scandal extended beyond Eiswert’s temporary suspension, sparking a deluge of hateful messages on social media and flooding the school with concerned calls from the public. It serves as a cautionary tale of technology gone awry and the repercussions of attempting to manipulate reality through deceit and malice.
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