OAN Staff Blake Wolf
3:20 PM – Friday, November 8, 2024
Federal authorities have begun investigating the origins of racist text messages that have been sent to Black Americans throughout the U.S. The disturbing texts falsely informed people of color that they had been “selected to pick cotton.”
“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 FBI stated on Thursday. “As always, we encourage members of the public to report threats of physical violence to local law enforcement authorities.”
Word of the racist messages quickly went viral on social media after multiple users uploaded screenshots of similar messages they recently received.
“You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Be ready at 1:00pm SHARP with your belongings. Our Executive Slaves will come get you in a Brown Van, be prepared to be searched down once you’ve enter the plantation. You are in Plantation Group C. good day,” one of the messages posted to X read.
Derrick Johnson, the NAACP president, seemingly blamed President-elect Donald Trump for “emboldening” racist groups after his decisive victory on Tuesday.
“The unfortunate reality of electing a President who, historically has embraced, and at times encouraged hate, is unfolding before our eyes. 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,” Johnson wrote in a Thursday statement.
“We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – there is no place for hate in a democracy. 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,” Johnson added.
Social media users have theorized that the messages were apart of a left-wing group’s effort to sow racial division and scare Black Americans into thinking that Trump’s presidency will unleash a wave of racism and violence towards people of color, a common Democrat talking point.
Soon after, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt responded to the accusatory language, asserting that Trump’s “campaign has absolutely nothing to do with these text messages.”
It is currently unclear who sent the anonymous messages, although the messages were sent through TextNow, an anonymous message sharing platform. Meanwhile, the company announced that they “believe(s) … [it] is a widespread, coordinated attack.”
“As soon as we became aware, our Trust & Safety team acted quickly, rapidly disabling the related accounts in less than an hour,” the company added.
Talaya Jones, a Black resident of Piscataway, New Jersey, stated that she initially thought the messages were “like a joke.”
“It became sadness when I realized that young people were getting it, like elementary schoolers and middle schoolers,” Jones continued. “Why would you want to intentionally hurt somebody that you don’t even know?”
“You don’t feel safe in anything that you do, because you don’t know who’s doing it. You don’t know how far they’ll take it,” she added.
The texts have been reportedly sent to Black individuals in over 20 states, including Alabama, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
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