As part of a crazed revenge plot, a Baltimore district high school athletic director allegedly used artificial intelligence to deceive his principal while spewing racist and antisemitic hate.
Dazhon Darien, 31, was arrested Thursday while trying to fly on a plane to Houston.
“We have been concerned about the troubling sound that has impacted Baltimore County’s neighborhoods from the beginning. That’s because those terms contradict everything we stand for,” said County Executive Johnny Olszewski at a press conference.
Hate has no house and a spot in Baltimore County. “Neither does it exist anywhere in our position or around in our nation.”
The crazy saga began in January when disturbing sound emerged of Pikesville High School Principal Eric Eiswert slamming students of color while having a sham conversation with one of the university’s assistant leaders.
According to charging records obtained by 2 WMAR, the mirrored voice of Eiswert claimed African American students were unable to “test their way out of a document bag” and that there were two Israeli teachers who “should never have been hired at the school.”
Eiswert was briefly kicked out of the classroom as punishment, but he pleaded his ignorance and told police he thought the audio clip was faked using AI.
He also pointed to Darien as the suspect, blaming him for being “technologically savvy,” according to officials.
Even more concerning is that there were discussions about canceling Darien’s commitment for the following semester after a number of work-related issues have arisen since he began his position as athletic director in July 2023, including paying his companion as an assistant coach despite not having worked for any teams.
According to Chief of Police Robert McCollough, “the detectives alleged that Mr. Darien, the athletic director at the great class, made the saving in retaliation against the primary who had launched an investigation into the possible misuse of college funds,” according to their analysis.
In the end, Darien was connected to the fake sound through an expert from the University of California, Berkeley, who the FBI and the University of California, Berkeley, who reportedly shared the fake recording with his own function email and other school teachers.
During an interview with police, Darien reportedly admitted to “having problems” with Eiswert throughout his brief career at the university.
Authorities said he was detained on Friday at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport after being informed that his case had an improper weapons in it.
When they went over his imprisonment permit, Baltimore County authorities had filed it the night before.
Whether he was trying to flee to Texas or making an unrelated vacation is also unknown, according to authorities.
He was accused of a number of crimes, including embezzlement, stalking, upheaval of school activities, and retaliation against a witness. He was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond.
Baltimore County Schools has since issued a proposal for his dismissal of his work, and it is anticipated to resign Principal Eiswert today that his title has been cleared.
