Baltimore educator allegedly used AI to fake principal making racist remarks, gets arrested

A Baltimore educator was arrested at the city’s BWI airport on Thursday as he attempted to board a flight to Houston, authorities said.

Dazhon Darien, athletic director of Pikesville High School, is accused of using artificial intelligence to fabricate an audio recording featuring the school’s principal making racist and anti-semitic remarks.

The recording, which was widely shared on social media after it was released earlier this year, led to the temporary removal of Principal Eric Eiswert from the school.

It also “triggered a wave of hate-filled messages on social media and numerous calls to the school [and] caused significant disruptions for the PHS staff and students,” according to charging documents.

On Jan. 17, Baltimore County Police detectives began looking into reports that a recording appeared to portray Eiswert making derogatory comments about minorities.

As part of the investigation, a forensic analyst contracted with the FBI was asked to analyze the recording. The analysis suggested the clip “contained traces of AI-generated content,” police said.

A second opinion from a forensic analyst with the University of California, Berkeley, also determined the recording was not authentic.

Based on that information and further investigation, authorities officially determined the recording had been created with AI technology.

According to investigators, Darien made the recording to retaliate against the principal, who at the time “was pursuing an investigation into the potential mishandling of school funds.”

Police believe Darien used school funds to pay his roommate $1,900 under the false pretense he was coaching the girls’ soccer team, authorities said.

Darien was stopped at the airport on Thursday because of the way he had packed his firearm, Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough, told reporters in a news conference.

After BWI officials looked into his background, they saw he had an open arrest warrant. He was subsequently arrested on charges of stalking, theft, disruption of school operations and retaliation against a witness.

After appearing in court Thursday afternoon, Darien was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond, police said.