US law enforcement investigates racist texts targeting Black Americans

WASHINGTON — 

Federal and authorities authorities are investigating racist substance messages sent anonymously to Black Americans crossed the state this week telling them they should beryllium enslaved, prompting wide condemnations arsenic good arsenic warnings.

The NAACP civilian rights radical said the messages urged recipients successful aggregate states, including Alabama, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia, to study to a plantation to prime cotton, an violative notation to past enslavement of Black radical successful the United States.

It remained unclear what individuals oregon entities were down the reported texts oregon however galore radical received them.

People successful astatine slightest 21 states, including precocious schoolhouse and assemblage students, received the texts, CNN and The Associated Press reported.

"These actions are not normal. And we garbage to fto them beryllium normalized," NAACP President Derrick Johnson said successful a connection from the civilian rights organization, which advocates for radical justness and rights for Black Americans.

"These messages correspond an alarming summation successful vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups crossed the country," helium said.

Many successful Black American communities accidental they expect a rollback of civilian rights aft Republican Donald Trump, who won Tuesday's statesmanlike predetermination implicit Democrat Kamala Harris, takes bureau connected January 20. Trump pledged during his run to extremity national diverseness and inclusion programs.

"President Trump’s run has perfectly thing to bash with these substance messages," his spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said successful a connection connected Friday.

An exit canvass conducted by Edison Research connected Election Day showed Harris winning 85% of the Black ballot nationwide portion Trump won 13%, up 1 percent constituent from an exit canvass successful 2020 erstwhile helium mislaid the statesmanlike predetermination to Joe Biden.

"We powerfully condemn these hateful messages and anyone targeting Americans based connected their ethnicity oregon background," Robyn Patterson, a White House spokesperson for Biden, said successful a connection connected Friday confirming the investigations.

"Racism has nary spot successful our country. Period."

The Federal Communications Commission said connected Friday its enforcement bureau is among those probing the incidents.

TextNow said 1 oregon much accounts connected its messaging work sent offending messages and were unopen down wrong an hour, adding that the texts were sent crossed aggregate carriers nationwide successful what it called "an attack," vowing to enactment with instrumentality enforcement.

Local authorities are besides investigating, with immoderate authorities attorneys wide urging recipients to study the messages to their civilian rights divisions.

Some schoolhouse districts issued warnings and urged students and parents to study immoderate specified texts received to schoolhouse unit oregon section authorities.