Since Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, the FBI became aware of “offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals around the country.” The texts appear to be going exclusively to Black residents of multiple states, some of them in middle school. Though the wording reportedly varies, the messages address the recipient by name, informing them that they’ve “been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation” and that “executive slave catchers” will soon pick them up in a brown van, according to a screenshot published by CNN. In a statement to CNN, the Trump campaign said it had “absolutely nothing to do with” the texts, though as the mother of one teen recipient told the network: “It’s eerie that it’s the day after the election.” The NAACP sees a clear correlation, too, president and CEO Derrick Johnson saying in a statement: “The unfortunate reality of electing a President who, historically, has embraced and at times encouraged hate is unfolding before our eyes. These messages represent 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.”
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