An 18-year-old has been charged with impersonating a peace officer and telecommunications fraud after managing to successfully pose as a senator and speak to children at Mohawk High School in Ohio, according to NBC New York. Izaha Akins took the place of Republican Sen. David Burke of Marysville in what Burke called an "extremely elaborate scheme" that was not discovered for weeks. Akins, who is president of the Democrats club at Ohio State University, reportedly pulled off the stunt in an effort to make a point about security.
Akins gained entrance to the school back in December after claiming to have replaced Burke as a result of illness, according to the Toledo Blade. He received a tour of the school and gave a talk to the class on political processes and participation, according to Mohawk Schools Superintendent Ken Ratliff. Akins was also provided with a car and driver for the day by Reineke Ford, who often work in conjunction with the school district.
The impersonation wasn't discovered until weeks later, when the real Sen. Burke appeared for his scheduled speech and school authorities realized their mistake. Akins told the Toledo Blade that he posed as the senator in order to make a point about the lack of proper security in rural schools, which he believes suffer from "the small community effect - they think that this can never happen to us."
Akins was arrested on Feb. 12, with a statement obtained by Buzzfeed News claiming that his actions were "the result of an ambitious young person seeking to make a positive difference in the world." The statement also emphasized the fact that Izaha's actions "were not about him or his getting famous" but was merely a "failed attempt at investigative reporting and activism."
"I was duping to prove a point, that these kinds of things can happen," Akins told the Toledo Blade. "They could have easily Googled me and they didn't."
