U.S. federal and state authorities are investigating a series of anonymous bigoted text messages that have spread alarm among Black Americans across the country this week, according to a Reuters report.
The messages urged recipients in multiple states, including Alabama, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, to report to a plantation to pick cotton—an offensive reference to the historical enslavement of Black people in the United States.
Officials and recipients reported that it remains unclear who is behind the texts, how many people have received them, or how the recipients were targeted.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) stated on Friday that its enforcement bureau is among those probing the incidents.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, a Republican, told Reuters on Friday that her office is also investigating the text messages. Murrill, who is white, revealed that she herself received one of the messages in her personal email inbox at 8:17 a.m. on Friday.
The message greeted her with an ethnic slur and contained offensive language, suggesting she had been selected to “pick cotton at the nearest plantation” and that “our guys will come get you in a van.”
“The content of these messages is deeply disturbing,” Murrill said. “We are working with federal authorities to identify and hold accountable those responsible.”
She noted that the FBI is also involved in the investigation.
Reference(s):
Authorities probing bigoted messages that spread alarm across U.S.
cgtn.com
