Maryland attorney general urges recipients of racist texts to come forward

Maryland's attorney general said Thursday that his office has received "multiple reports of racist text messages" sent to Marylanders over the past few days, part of what is believed to be a nationwide campaign targeting Black people in the wake of Tuesday's election.

The text messages , of which there are several versions, generally appear to alert the recipient that they have been chosen to "pick cotton" or a similar wording. The text provides instructions to bring their belongings to "'board a bus' to be transported to a 'plantation' to work as a slave," according to a news release Thursday from the Office of the Attorney General in Maryland.

Residents of several states, including New York, Pennsylvania, California, Ohio and Maryland, have reported receiving the anonymous texts.

Recipients have included school-age and college students, "causing significant distress," the attorney general's office said.

"These messages are horrific, unacceptable, and will not be tolerated. If you have been sent one of these texts, I am asking for you to please come forward and report it," Attorney General Anthony Brown said in the release. "I am committed to protecting the rights of all Marylanders. There is no home for hate in Maryland."

Brown's office said it is "critical" for anyone who receives these text messages to report them to law enforcement so that the texts can be tracked and also to his office's Civil Rights Division so that the messages can be evaluated.

Maryland residents can lodge a civil rights complaint using the form here . They can also report the messages to the Maryland Commission on Hate Crimes Response and Prevention at nohomeforhate.md.gov .