Recipients Of Racist Texts Sent In MD Urged To Come Forward

Crime & Safety

Recipients Of Racist Texts Sent In MD Urged To Come Forward Racist text messages invoking slavery were sent to Black Americans in multiple states this week, prompting numerous investigations.

BALTIMORE, MD — Maryland authorities are urging people to come forward after Black Americans in multiple states were targeted by racist text messages referencing slavery.

The messages — sent anonymously to Black men, women and students as young as middle schoolers — were reported in several states, including Virginia, New York, Alabama, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

The messages address the recipients by first and last name and instruct them to show up at an address at a particular time with their belongings, while others didn't include a location. Some of the texts mentioned the incoming presidential administration.

One of the messages sent to a photographer at WVEC in Virginia claims he was selected to "pick cotton at the nearest plantation." The person is told he will be picked up by an "executive slave" and taken to the plantation, where he will be searched.

Officials with Montgomery County Public Schools confirmed "many individuals, including students" had received text messages Thursday containing the racist threats.

In a statement released Thursday night, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown called the messages "horrific" and "unacceptable."

"If you have been sent one of these texts, I am asking for you to please come forward and report it," Brown said. "I am committed to protecting the rights of all Marylanders. There is no home for hate in Maryland."

Anyone who received one of the messages should file a complaint with the state's Civil Rights Division using this form or with the Maryland Commission on Hate Crimes Response and Prevention at .

It wasn't yet clear who was behind the messages and there was no comprehensive list of where they were sent.

The FBI said it was in touch with the Justice Department on the messages, and the Federal Communications Commission said it was investigating the texts "alongside federal and state law enforcement."

The leaders of several other civil rights organizations also condemned the messages, including Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who said , "Hate speech has no place in the South or our nation."

"The threat — and the mention of slavery in 2024 — is not only deeply disturbing, but perpetuates a legacy of evil that dates back to before the Jim Crow era, and now seeks to prevent Black Americans from enjoying the same freedom to pursue life, liberty, and happiness," said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson. "These actions are not normal. And we refuse to let them be normalized."