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    • Racist text messages reported in several states
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    Racist text messages reported in several states

    Pabio Posted on

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    Racist text messages sent to Black Americans in Ohio and across the nationtelling them that they are being selected to be enslaved and tasked with picking cotton on a plantation.

    The widespread messages are being reported in several states and the screenshots are going viral on social media sites. The messages vary in details, but follow the same basic script.

    Students appear to be among the targeted recipients.

    More: Fraudulent racist text messages are spamming Black Americans in the United States. Here’s what you need to know about identity theft

    “Some students received these hateful text messages,” said Ben Johnson, a spokesman for Ohio State University. “We have reported the posts to the Office of Institutional Equity and are providing support services. We are aware this is happening nationally.”

    Columbus State Community College spokesman Brent Wilder confirmed that students at the college had received spam messages. College officials were unable to quantify the number of students.

    “This is racism at its worst,” said Nana Watson, president of the Columbus NAACP. “I think it’s a hate crime, in my opinion.”

    Mary Banks said her 16-year-old daughter received a hateful text message at 8:12 p.m. Wednesday and it included her full name. Some of her daughter’s friends at Columbus City Schools received similar messages.

    NOTICE: Trump’s racist rhetoric fueled hate and slavery spam messages

    Banks said she wasn’t surprised racist hatred surfaced. “I think white supremacy grew stronger after the election. That’s my personal opinion.”

    FBI and Ohio Attorney General’s Office Aware of Racist Text Messages

    In a tweet on its X account, the FBI said it “was aware of racist and offensive text messages sent to individuals across the country and was in contact with the Department of Justice and others federal agencies on this subject.

    “As always, we encourage members of the public to report threats of physical violence to local law enforcement.”

    More: FBI investigates racist mass text messages sent to Black Americans

    In response to the FBI tweet, Rep. Thomas Massie, Republican representing Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, responded on his X account: “You’re probably the one sending them. Pack your bags.”

    Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office is also aware of the text messages and has a team looking into the matter, his spokeswoman said.

    The messages appear to come from phone numbers with Ohio area codes. A check of some numbers shows that they are landlines, which cannot send text messages. This could be a sign that the text messages are part of a identity theft scam.

    Identity theft allows looks like a call or text message is from a known contact or a local entity.

    The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate incidents nationwide, said in a statement that the text sent to young black people “is a public spectacle of hatred and racism that makes a mockery of our civil rights history.”

    “Leaders at all levels must condemn anti-Black racism, in any form, whenever we see it – and we must follow our words with actions that advance racial justice and build an inclusive democracy where every person feels safe and welcome in their community. said Margaret Huang, President and CEO of the SPLC.

    This is a developing story and will be updated.

    Reporter Sheridan Hendrix contributed to this report.

    Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the Ohio bureau of the USA TODAY Network, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations in Ohio..

    Pabio
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