A week after cellphone users across the United States reported a wave of racist text messages, members of the Hispanic and LGBTQ communities are now receiving text messages saying they have been selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp, according to a new press release. of the FBI.
These messages follow reports that African American and Black residents received racist texts in the days after the 2024 election that they had been selected to “pick cotton on a plantation,” according to the FBI . Cellphone users in at least nine cities – New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Houston, Huntsville, Texas, Los Angeles, Norfolk, Virginia and Tuscaloosa, Alabama – reported receiving the messages.
The new message also includes emails, the FBI said in its statement.
TextNow, a cell phone provider that lets users create phone numbers for free, said last week that it had discovered “one or more” of its users sending racist text messages to phone numbers across the country and that the service quickly closed the accounts.
The FBI said it is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities about the matter.
The recipients of these messages include high school and college students.
“While we have not received any reports of violence stemming from these offensive posts, we are evaluating all reported incidents and engaging with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division,” the FBI said in its statement. Friday press release. “We also share information with our law enforcement partners, as well as community, academic and religious leaders.”
Anyone receiving these messages – or any threats of violence – is encouraged to report them to the FBI.
