Hispanic, LGBTQ communities receive hateful emails after racist text surge

NEW YORK — A week after cellphone users across the U.S. reported a flurry of racist text messages, members of the Hispanic and LGBTQ communities are now receiving text messages saying they have been selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp, according to a new statement from the FBI.

The messages follow reports of African American and Black residents receiving racist texts in the days after the 2024 election that they were selected to "pick cotton on a plantation," according to the FBI. Cellphone users in at least nine cities -- New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Houston, Huntsville, Texas, Los Angeles, Norfolk, Virginia, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama -- reported receiving the messages.

The new message also include some emails, the FBI said in its statement.

TextNow, a mobile provider that allows people to create phone numbers for free, said last week it discovered "one or more" of its users allegedly sending out racist text messages to phone numbers across the country and that the service quickly shut down the accounts.

The FBI has said it is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.

Recipients of these messages include high school and college students.

"Although we have not received reports of violent acts stemming from these offensive messages, we are evaluating all reported incidents and engaging with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division," the FBI said in its Friday statement. "We are also sharing information with our law enforcement partners, and community, academia, and faith leaders."

Anyone who receives these messages -- or any threats of violence -- is encouraged to report them to the FBI.

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