Disturbing racist text messages spread nationwide, including WA
Nov 8, 2024, 6:54 AM | Updated: 6:57 am
A graphic of a smartphone with chat bubbles from text messages appearing on top. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)
The FBI is investigating reports of people receiving racist text messages in more than a dozen states, including Washington.
Izellah Rainer, a student in Ellensburg, received two of these texts this week and shared them with KIRO 7.
“Greetings, you have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation,” the text read, according to KIRO 7. “Be ready at 10 p.m. sharp with all your belongings. The executive slaves will come pick you up in a brown van, be prepared to be searched down upon arrival to the plantation. You are in plantation group A.”
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Rainer shared these messages on social media, with others commenting that they’ve received the same, or similar, text messages throughout the country. Similar text messages have been reported in states including Georgia, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina. Victims as young as 13 have received these texts.
The texts appear to be targeting Black and Brown individuals, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James, including students.
“I replied back, ‘Well, you better tell them I’m not my ancestors. I whip and shoot back,'” David Williams, a resident in Atlanta who received these texts, told CBS.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the FBI confirmed it is aware of the situation. The Justice Department and other federal authorities are working alongside the FBI in the investigation. It’s not yet clear who is behind the messages, as of this reporting.
“As always, we encourage members of the public to report threats of physical violence to local law enforcement authorities,” the statement said.
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The president of the NAACP stated this incident could be the consequence of “electing a president who, historically, has embraced and, at times, encouraged hate,” but National Press Secretary for Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, Karoline Leavitt, quickly shut down any connections between these texts and Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has absolutely nothing to do with these next messages,” Leavitt said in a statement to CNN.
This is a developing story, check back for updates
Contributing: KIRO 7
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.
