The FBI on Thursday launched an investigation to identify the people responsible for sending out racist text messages across the nation to Black Americans, including children and college students.
"The FBI is aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals around the country and is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter," the bureau said in a statement. "As always, we encourage members of the public to report threats of physical violence to local law enforcement authorities."
The reports of the messages came from states including Maryland, New Jersey, Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, New York and South Carolina. According to the Associated Press, the texts were circulated shortly after the 2024 US Presidential Election concluded, and Donald Trump defeated Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
In a statement on X, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said that the "racist and vile spam text messages" have spread to her state. "I have directed the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation to fully investigate the origins of these disgusting texts that only intend to divide us." Murrill also urged residents who have received the texts to report it to her office.
Meanwhile, officials in Virginia and Washington told CNN that they are also investigating the incident.
New York Attorney General Letitia James slammed the text messages as "disgusting and unacceptable."
"These texts appear to be targeting Black and Brown individuals, including students, and may include personal information about the recipient such as their name or location," James wrote in X. "I unequivocally condemn any attempt to intimidate or threaten New Yorkers and their families."
In an August address to the National Association of Black Journalists, now-president-elect Trump had questioned Harris' racial identity. The Vice President is biracial – her mother was Indian and her father is Black.
Some recipients shared examples of the messages, which were then reviewed by The New York Times. Some of the messages addressed recipients by name, informed them they had been "selected to pick cotton" on a plantation, and instructed them to appear at a designated time for "pickup" by slave handlers. Some texts also referenced the president-elect Trump.
Civil rights groups, including the Southern Poverty Law Center and the SPLC Action Fund, urged the FBI to take action against those who are behind the racist texts.
"This is alarming, both because there's no indication who the text is from, but because all the people who received it were young African Americans," Margaret Huang reportedly said.
