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The FBI on Thursday said it was investigating reports of several racist text messages sent across the nation to Black Americans, including children.
"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 bureau said in a statement.
"As always, we encourage members of the public to report threats of physical violence to local law enforcement authorities," it added.
The Associated Press reported that the messages were sent to Black people, including women and children, in states including Alabama, California, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Tennessee. CNN reported that people in Maryland, New Jersey and South Carolina also said they received texts.
The Federal Communications Commission also said it was looking into the matter, as did the Ohio attorney general's office, according to the AP.
NBC News reported that dozens of Black people around the country have said they received the messages, which were sent shortly after the 2024 presidential election was called for Donald Trump.
President-elect Trump won the race by notching 295 Electoral College votes, easily clearing the 270-vote threshold required to seal the presidency. Results from Arizona and Nevada are still pending.
According to NBC, the text messages sent to Black people included slurs referencing slavery, cotton-picking and plantations.
Among those targeted were students in college, high school and middle school, the AP reported.
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson warned in a statement on Thursday that the messages "represent an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country."
He said the election results from this week has "emboldened" these people to "spread hate and stoke the flames of fear," all of which is "not normal."
"We've said it before and we'll say it again - there is no place for hate in a democracy," Johnson said.
"The threat - and the mention of slavery in 2024 - is not only deeply disturbing but perpetuates a legacy of evil that dates back to before the Jim Crow era, and now seeks to prevent Black Americans from enjoying the same freedom to pursue life, liberty and happiness."
What did the text message say?
One woman, Monèt Miller, told NBC that she received a text on Wednesday morning, shortly after the election was called for Trump.
"Greetings Monet M, You have been selected to pick cutton [sic] at the nearest plantation," the text message said, per a screenshot provided to NBC. "Be ready at 12PM SHARP with your belongings. Our Executive Slaves will come get you in a Brown Van, be prepared to be searched down once you've enter [sic] the plantation. You are in Plantation Group S."
The Instagram account @washingtonianprobs posted a screenshot of a similar text message one of its community members who lives in DC received.
The message read: "Greetings, You have been selected to be a house slave at Abington Plantation. Come to this address, 300 7th St SW, Washington, DC 20024 at 0500 tomorrow SHARP. With all of your belongings. This is mandatory. Our executive spaces will come get you in a Turquoise van, be prepared to be searched down once you enter the plantation grounds. You will be station at Plantation point L. Sincerely, Trump administration."
Another woman who lives in California told the AP that her 16-year-old daughter received a text telling her to go to a "plantation" in North Carolina.
Where did the text messages originate?
The FBI has not released any information about who was responsible for sending the texts, nor is it clear where they originated.
The message reposted to @washingtonianprobs on Instagram came from a 571-443-8709 number. When Newsweek tried to call the number, a message said it was a "text-call subscriber."
The texts have sparked fear and concern among people in marginalized communities who often found themselves targeted by Trump and his surrogates during a heated election season.
When reached for comment on the FBI investigation, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung sent the following statement via email to Newsweek: "Are you accusing the campaign of having anything to do with these texts? If so, I'd like to speak with the legal counsel for Newsweek because that's an asinine and defamatory accusation."
There is no evidence or indication that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it sent the messages.
The president-elect drew backlash for questioning Vice President Kamala Harris' racial identity during the campaign.
"And now she wants to be known as Black," Trump said while addressing the National Association of Black Journalists in August. "So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?"
Harris is biracial; her mother was Indian and her father is Black.
In 2020, during his first term, Trump also suggested that he had "done more for Black Americans than anybody, with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln. Nobody has even been close."
As the George Floyd protests erupted in 2020, Trump fielded blowback over his handling of the demonstrations, at one point writing on X, formerly Twitter, that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."
The president-elect ran his 2024 campaign on the pledge to initiate mass deportations on "Day 1" of his presidency, and he drew sharp scrutiny for spreading the falsehood that Haitian migrants in Ohio were eating residents' pets.
Update 11/08/24, 11:30 a.m ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
About the writer
Sonam Sheth is an Evening Politics Editor at Newsweek who is based in New York. She joined Newsweek in 2024 ... Read more