People throughout the D.C. area and across the United States reported receiving racist spam text messages the day after the election that told them to report to plantations to pick cotton.
One person, who did not want to be identified, sent News4 a screenshot of the text, which said:
"Greetings, You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Be ready at 12PM SHARP with your belongings. Our Executive Slaves will come get you in a Black Van, be prepared to be searched down once you've enter[sic] the plantation. You are in Plantation Group S"
News4 obtained the screenshot of a similar text sent to another person from the region:
A third text shared on the Washingtonian Problems Instagram had specific references to the District and Virginia. In that message, the recipient was told they would be a "house slave" at the Abingdon Plantation in Arlington which is on land shared with Washington Reagan National Airport. They're directed to an address in Southwest DC and are also told it is mandatory.
The Metropolitan Police Department's Office of Homeland Security Intelligence is investigating the origins of the messages directing people to a Southwest address, police said.
Each message is slightly different in detail and specificity.
Some students in Montgomery County, Maryland, also received the texts, the school system said in a letter to families.
"We recognize that the emotional and psychological impact on our students, staff, and particularly our communities of color is profound. We stand in solidarity with those who feel targeted and hurt by these actions," Montgomery County Public Schools said in the letter.
School officials asked anyone who received the messages to report them to local authorities or school staff.
The attorneys general for Washington, D.C. and Virginia condemned the texts and asked residents to reach out to local law enforcement if they're in danger.
For District residents, the Office of the Attorney General asked anyone who received the texts to reach out to the civil rights section at 202-727-3400 or emailing OAGCivilRights@dc.gov.
D.C. police advised forwarding the messages to the Federal Trade Commission at 7726 or report them to ReportFraud.ftc.gov, as well as marking the messages as junk or spam in order to report them to the messaging app.
People in Alabama, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and other states have also reported getting the texts, according to online news reports. Many of the texts appeared to go to students – including some in middle school.
The source of the widespread texts is unknown at this time and it's unclear how they obtained the phone numbers and names of so many.
