Bigoted text messages after Trump victory also targeted Latinos, LGBTQ+ communities, FBI says

Racist text messages sent to African Americans across the U.S. last week were also sent to Latinos and members of the LGBTQ+ community, the FBI said Friday. 

In an update, the agency said it has been investigating the incidents with the Justice Department and other federal agencies, finding that not all of the texts were the same but “many say the recipient has been selected to pick cotton on a plantation.” 

The text message campaign came shortly after former President Donald Trump was announced the winner of the 2024 presidential election and several of the texts referenced Trump explicitly. 

“The text message recipients have now expanded to high school students, as well as both the Hispanic and LGBTQIA+ communities. Some recipients reported being told they were selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp,” the FBI explained in a statement. 

“The messages have also been reported as being received via email communication. Although we have not received reports of violent acts stemming from these offensive messages, we are evaluating all reported incidents and engaging with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.”

The FBI added that it is sharing more information about the incidents with local law enforcement, academia and faith leaders. They urged anyone receiving the messages to report them to the FBI. 

Last week, a spokesperson for a mass texting service called TextNow told Recorded Future News that it uncovered “one or more accounts” used to send text messages in violation of their terms of service.

“As soon as we became aware, our Trust & Safety team acted quickly and disabled the related accounts in less than an hour. As part of our investigation into these messages, we learned they have been sent through multiple carriers across the US and we are working with partners and law enforcement cooperatively to investigate this attack,” the company said. 

The company did not respond to further questions about where the accounts in question were based or who was tied to them. 

At least one person said they had received a voicemail that used the voice of Trump to relay a similar message. Some messages  included the victims’ real names. 

The text messages appear to have targeted African Americans on college campuses, with dozens of people reporting them at large schools across the South and Northeast. Some middle school children and high schoolers have also reported receiving versions of the texts. 

A slew of Black elected officials raised alarms about the campaign, urging law enforcement agencies to protect young people being targeted by the text messages. 

“I am outraged by this attack. For countless Black Americans to be bombarded with threatening and dehumanizing text messages is not only a grave danger to young people at this vulnerable moment for our nation, but an affront and insult to our common humanity,” said Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y). 

“Within our traditional and new media spaces, in our communities, and even in our government, that continues to be emboldened to a disturbing degree. We must not stand idly by as racism and bigotry become even more pervasive and further normalized in America.”