Racist text messages target Black Americans, including some in Texas, after presidential election

Black residents from across the United States, including some in Houston, have reported receiving racist text messages containing references to "slave catchers" in the aftermath of Tuesday's presidential election.

The messages reportedly came from unknown phone numbers and appear to be specifically targeting Black Americans. In an interview with KHOU , Houstonian Laura Bass-Brown said her 15-year-old daughter, along with her high school friends, received the texts on Thursday.

"You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Be ready at 1:00 PM SHARP with your belongings. Our executive slave catchers will come get you in a Brown Van, be prepared to be searched down once you've enter the plantation. You are in Plantation Group K," the text read.

In a statement, the FBI said it is "aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals around the country" and added that it's "in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter."

Notably, the messages are protected under the First Amendment's freedom of speech clause. The FBI has urged anyone who receives threats of physical violence within these texts to immediately report them to local law enforcement.

Authorities from New York, Virginia, Louisiana and Nevada have condemned the text messages, with some launching investigations in an effort to trace the origin of the texts. According to reporting from CNN , a number of these texts were seemingly sent through TextNow in what the company believes to be "a widespread, coordinated attack."

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson also decried the messages, saying the texts represented "an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and stoke the flames of fear that many of us are feeling after Tuesday's election results."

Republican Donald Trump won a second term in the White House, beating Vice President Kamala Harris, a Black woman.

"We've said it before and we'll say it again — there is no place for hate in a democracy," Johnson said. "Freedom is on the horizon, and we won't be fear mongered out of the future we deserve."

The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates communications within the country, and the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately respond to requests for comment.