Racist texts spark alarm: FBI, FCC join multi-state probe

Federal and state authorities are investigating a wave of anonymous racist text messages that has alarmed Black Americans nationwide, officials and recipients informed Reuters.

The messages, sent to people across multiple states, including Alabama, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, directed recipients to "report to a plantation to pick cotton," an offensive reference to Black slavery in the United States.

The origin of the texts, the number of people affected, and the targeting method remain unclear. The Federal Communications Commission confirmed that its enforcement bureau was involved in the investigation.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, a Republican, disclosed that her office was also investigating the messages, noting that some people, herself included, also received similarly offensive emails.

According to a screenshot shared with Reuters, Murrill, who is white, received a message using a racial slur, which said, “Now that Trump is president, you have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation,” and warned that she would be collected in a van. Murrill confirmed that the FBI was also examining the situation.

The FBI stated on Thursday that it was "aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals nationwide" and was liaising with the Justice Department and other federal agencies on the matter.

Murrill commented, “It could be coming from a basement in Baton Rouge, or it could be a basement in Bangladesh,” emphasising that the messages appeared aimed at provoking emotional responses post-election. She encouraged the public to disregard the instigators.

Publicist Monèt Miller from Atlanta shared her shock on social media after receiving a similar text message and was dismayed by the number of other Black Americans reporting the same. "To find out that all these African American people are getting it, that was the scariest part about it," she said.

According to CNN and the Associated Press, individuals in at least 21 states received these texts, including high school and college students.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson denounced the messages in a statement, saying they represent a worrying increase in racist rhetoric nationwide, and affirmed that the organisation would not tolerate such behaviour.

Some Black Americans fear a potential rollback of civil rights following the recent election victory of Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris.

Trump, who has previously made racially and sexually offensive remarks towards Black individuals, has pledged to dismantle federal diversity and inclusion programs. However, Trump’s spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated that his campaign had “absolutely nothing to do with these text messages.”

TextNow, the messaging service through which some of the messages were sent, confirmed that it had blocked the account(s) responsible within an hour of being alerted. The messages were distributed across various carriers, which TextNow described as “an attack.”

In response, some school districts issued advisories, urging students and parents to report any similar texts to school staff or local authorities.

The lead-up to Tuesday's election saw the largest surge in political violence in the US since the 1970s, including some racist incidents targeting Harris supporters, as documented by Reuters.