Multiple state and federal law enforcement departments are investigating a series of racist mass texts that were sent to Black people across 32 states following the election.
Per AP News, the FBI and the Justice Department have also joined the investigation alongside the Federal Communications Commission and state law agencies to find out who is behind the mass text messages. Although there were different variations, the text messages sent to Black women, men and children all had the same instructions to “board a bus” that would send them to “plantations.”
A VPN was reportedly used to hide the sender’s location, and phone service provider TextNow also reported that their service was used to send a number of messages. Those accounts have now been disabled.
Students from HBCUs and as young as middle schoolers were targets of the texts, causing a significant amount of distress for students and parents alike.
The NAACP reacted to the news in a statement released late last week, acknowledging the timing of the messages in the wake of the election.
Across multiple states, Black women, men, and students have received disturbing, racist text messages from an unknown source, urging them to report to a plantation to pick cotton.
— NAACP (@NAACP) November 8, 2024
Our President and CEO @DerrickNAACP responded:
"The unfortunate reality of electing a President…
“The threat — and the mention of slavery in 2024 — is not only deeply disturbing but perpetuates a legacy of evil that dates back to before the Jim Crow era and now seeks to prevent Black Americans from enjoying the same freedom to pursue life, liberty, and happiness,” said the NAACP. “These actions are not normal. And we refuse to let them be normalized.”
A day before the text messages were sent, Republican nominee Donald Trump was announced as the President-elect.
Some of the messages, per the New York Times, were signed off with references to Trump and referred to the sender as one of his supporters. Throughout his campaign, Trump spewed out harmful rhetoric about Black citizens, including furthering a lie that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating their neighbors’ cats and dogs.
“The unfortunate reality of electing a President who, historically, has embraced, and at times encouraged hate, is unfolding before our eyes,” said the NAACP. “These messages represent an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and stoke the flames of fear that many of us are feeling after Tuesday’s election results. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – there is no place for hate in a democracy.”
Civil rights groups are encouraging anyone who receives a text message to report it to their state police department and the F.B.I.
