The FBI has initiated an investigation into racist text messages being sent to Black Americans across the United States. These messages began to surface following the announcement of Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
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The messages instructed those who received them to report on a plantation for cotton picking. According to the BBC, the recipients included college students who received the messages in Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, and New York. “The FBI is aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals around the country,” the agency stated.
“We are in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter,” the statement contained. Trump’s campaign also confirmed in a statement that they had no involvement in the messages.” The campaign has absolutely nothing to do with these text messages,” wrote spokesperson Steven Cheung.
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The app TextNow announced that some of its accounts were misused to send disturbing messages, which violated their terms of service. The associated phone numbers were disconnected within an hour, and TextNow stated that they would cooperate with authorities.