FBI Investigating Series of Racist Text Messages Following Election

Photo: Getty Images iStockphoto Text messages invoking slavery were sent to black men, women and children.

Ayanna Alexander – Associated Press and Matt O’Brien – Associated Press in Washington

Published at 12:30 a.m.

• United States

In the United States, several federal and state agencies are investigating how racist text messages were sent en masse to black people across the country following this week’s presidential election.

The text messages invoking slavery were sent to black men, women and children, prompting investigations by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

The anonymous messages were reported in several states, including New York, Alabama, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Tennessee. The FBI said it had contacted the Justice Department about the messages, and the Federal Communications Commission said it was investigating alongside federal and state law enforcement.

“These messages are unacceptable,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. She said the agency takes “this type of targeting very seriously.”

While the text messages varied somewhat, they all instructed recipients to “get on a bus” that would transport them to a plantation to work as slaves, officials said. They said the messages were sent to school-aged children and university students, causing significant distress.

The person who sent the messages used a virtual private network to mask their origin, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill noted Thursday morning.

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The Maryland attorney general’s office said it has received multiple reports of racist text messages sent to black residents, including children. In a news release Thursday night, officials said the messages appear to be part of a nationwide campaign targeting black people in the wake of the election.

Phone service provider TextNow said one or more of its accounts were used to send the racist text messages and were quickly disabled for violating its terms of service.

“As part of our investigation into these messages, we learned that they were sent by multiple carriers across the United States, and we are working cooperatively with partners and law enforcement to investigate this attack,” the company said in a statement Friday.

Major carriers AT&T and Verizon have both said the issue is industry-wide and deferred comment Friday to a trade group.

“The U.S. wireless industry has blocked thousands of text messages and the numbers that sent them,” said Nick Ludlum, senior vice president and chief communications officer for CTIA, a wireless communications trade association. “Through CTIA’s Secure Messaging Initiative, participants have identified the platforms used by malicious actors to send these messages and are working with law enforcement on this issue.”

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“A Problem That Hasn't Changed at All”

These racist text messages have been received across the country, primarily targeting black Americans, and black children in particular.

Nicole, a North Carolina mother who asked not to use her last name because of her profession, said she was disturbed and concerned by the messages her daughter showed her Thursday night.

The text messages asked her to get ready to go back to the plantation. It was her daughter’s first real experience with this type of racism, Nicole said, and as a parent, she didn’t want to have to have those conversations with her children.

“It’s like a slap in the face and it shows me that this is still an issue that hasn’t changed at all,” she said.

Several students at historically black colleges have received a message with a similar tone but different wording. Dr. Robert Greene II, an assistant professor of history at Claflin University, said he has heard from his students and campus officials about this. He said not only is the timing of the mass messages intentional, but the focus on young black students is.

“It’s a way of telling black students, in particular, that this is the world they live in now, that this kind of outright racist bullying is becoming the norm in American society and politics,” Greene said. “There’s no question that fear and intimidation are at the heart of what’s happening with these text messages.”