The messages tell people they’re going to pick cotton and should be prepared to do that soon, though there are slightly different wording variations on that same theme. One reads: “Greeting, You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Be ready to b 5:00 pm est. Executive Slaves will come get you in a Black van, Be prepared to be searched down once you enter the plantation[.] You are Plantation Group 4.”
Other messages explicitly mention Trump.
My bestie just received this— they want her to pick cotton like a slave this weekend. To say I’m angry would be an understatement pic.twitter.com/LkXUyL0ZPY
— Allison Wiltz Psy.M. (@queenie4rmnola) November 8, 2024
The messages have reportedly been received in Minnesota, Alabama, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Louisiana, and New York, among plenty of others. While it’s not clear how the phone numbers of Black people are being singled out specifically, CNN reports the person or group of people behind this have been using TextNow, a service for sending text messages popular with scammers.
TextNow told CNN they’ve disabled the accounts known to have sent the threatening messages, though there are plenty of other services available for this kind of mass-texting operation.
“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 said in a statement posted to its website Thursday.
“As always, we encourage members of the public to report threats of physical violence to local law enforcement authorities,” the short statement concludes.
The CEO of the NAACP drew a direct line to these racist messages and what Trump has been saying during his presidential campaign. Trump has been spreading vile conspiracy theories about immigrants and has said some of the most racist things of any presidential candidate in the 21st century.
“The unfortunate reality of electing a president who, historically, has embraced and at times encouraged hate, is unfolding before our eyes,” NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson told CNN. “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.”
Trump was declared the winner of the presidential election in the early morning hours of Wednesday and any decent person is obviously stressed out right now about what the future looks like. Trump has promised to deport millions of immigrants, has said he’ll become a dictator on day one, and has said he’ll use the military against his political enemies.
Things are about to get really bad. And mass texts with racist messages may just be a joke by psychotic trolls right now. But the darker elements of Trump’s agenda aren’t just going to be texts in the near future.
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