Officials in a number of states are responding to reports of racist texts received by residents in the days after the 2024 election.
The Virginia Attorney General’s Office told ABC News it “is aware of these text messages and unequivocally condemns them.”
The office confirmed that the text language corresponds with the text reportedly received by an employee at ABC affiliate 13News Now in Norfolk, Virginia, which read: “You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Be ready at 12 pm sharp with your belongings. Our executive slaves will come get you in a brown van. Be prepared to be searched down once you’ve enter the plantation. You are in plantation group W.”
The office urges anyone who believes they are under threat to contact local law enforcement as well as their local FBI field office. They could not confirm or deny whether an investigation was taking place.
As of 7 p.m. ET Thursday, 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.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said in statement that her office is looking into the texts that she says was “targeting New Yorkers, including middle school, high school, and college students.”
“I unequivocally condemn any attempt to intimidate or threaten New Yorkers and their families. I encourage anyone in New York who has received an anonymous, threatening text message to report it to my office,” she said in the statement which linked to her office’s civil rights’ complaint form.
The North Carolina Department of Justice told ABC News that it is working with federal and industry partners to investigate the source of the robotexts.
The office is also encouraging North Carolinians to report such texts to the state’s DOJ office and local law enforcement.
The FBI said in a statement that it is “aware” of the suspicious messages and “is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.”
“As always, we encourage members of the public to report threats of physical violence to local law enforcement authorities,” the agency said.
A spokesperson for the Federal Communications Commission said in a statement, “Our Enforcement Bureau is aware of these and is looking into them alongside federal and state law enforcement.”
Mass “disparaging” texts were also reported by local news outlets in Ohio, Michigan, Alabama, Wisconsin and South Carolina.
In an online statement, Clemson University Police Department in South Carolina said it received reports of students receiving text messages “containing disparaging language from unrecognized numbers.”
“These numbers have been determined to be associated with online spoofing sites. CUPD is actively investigating the matter and working with state partners to identify the source of the messages,” read the statement.
The department said there is no indication of a credible threat to members of the local community and also urged recipients to report the texts.
ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Abby Cruz, Luke Barr, Sabina Ghebremedhin, and Emmanuelle Saliba contributed to this report.