Former Pikesville High Employee Arrested for Trying to Frame Principal as Racist and Antisemitic

By Andrew Lapin

A former Pikesville High School athletic director and physical education teacher was arrested Thursday morning, Apr. 25, and charged with using artificial intelligence to fabricate antisemitic and racist comments allegedly made by the school’s principal, Eric Eiswert.

Baltimore County Police charged East Baltimore resident Dazhon Darien, a 31-year-old Los Angeles native, with disrupting school activities, retaliation, stalking and theft. Authorities said he used the school’s network to access OpenAI software, allowing him to fake a recording attributed to Eiswert, according to the Baltimore Banner.

In the charging document, the police noted that Eiswert suspected that Darien created the recording as revenge after his contract was not renewed. Darien started his job at PHS in July of 2023.

“We now have conclusive evidence that the recording was not authentic,” Baltimore County Police Chief Robert O. McCullough said at press conference. “It’s been determined the recording was generated through the use of artificial intelligence technology. … Through their investigation, detectives allege that Mr. Darien, who was athletic director at the high school, made the recording to retaliate against the principal, who had launched an investigation into the potential mishandling of school funds.”

A judge signed an arrest warrant for Darien before he was apprehended Apr. 25 at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Darien was preparing to fly to Houston when stopped by airport security.

The case was part of a growing body of AI-generated impersonation incidents that experts say is a newfound worry in a barely regulated field of technology. This was an unusual instance of faking antisemitic comments to damage a public figure’s reputation.

In the recording, a voice sounding like Eiswert said, “If I have to get one more complaint from one more Jew in this community, I’m going to join the other side.”

The voice also made racist remarks about Black students.

The recording spread on social media last January and was sent to at least three county teachers, including one who told police she forwarded it to a student knowing they would quickly spread it online. An email address linked to Darien sent the audio to various sources.

Eiswert came to Pikesville High in 2021. He previously served as assistant principal at Catonsville High School.

Some in the community were quick to attribute the comments to Eiswert, alluding to a history of tension with minority communities.

Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers said the comments were “highly offensive and inappropriate statements about African American students, Pikesville High School staff, and Pikesville’s Jewish community.”

But Eiswert immediately denied making the comments, and questions were soon raised about the voice’s authenticity. Both local authorities and the school district soon mounted investigations.

Eiswert has not worked at Pikesville High since the allegations surfaced, although the district would not say if he was removed from his position.

Last March, AI experts told the Banner that the audio was mostly likely fake, citing its flat quality and lack of consistent breathing sounds.

“From the beginning of this incident, the recording seemed odd and suspicious,” said Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council. He said this was why his agency held off on issuing any initial comment about the Eiswert case.

“I am appreciative for the police and school system taking the time to investigate and to apparently get to the bottom of what really happened,” Libit said. “It is scary to see how AI can be manipulated like this and do such damage to a school community and an individual. We have enough incidents of antisemitism and racism in our communities without things like this.”

Andrew Lapin is the managing editor for local news at the JTA global Jewish news source. Jmore staff contributed to this report.