FBI Probes Origins of Racist Text Messages

Anonymous messages told recipients they had been selected to report to a plantation to pick cotton.

The J. Edgar Hoover building, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters in Washington on Oct. 8, 2024. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Federal officials announced on Thursday that they are investigating racist text messages targeting black Americans throughout the country.

Residents in New York, Alabama, California, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Ohio have reported receiving hateful messages.