Offensive, racist text messages’ hit Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana – Local and federal authorities in Indiana confirmed Thursday that certain mobile phone users were the victims of racist texts that invoked slavery.

In a statement released Friday, Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson attested to the fact that the messages had reached residents of the Monroe County city.

Thomson issued a statement saying, “The City of Bloomington categorically condemns all acts of hatred and hate speech in light of recent reports of hate speech, both nationally and within our community.” “We remain steadfast in our dedication to creating a respectful, safe, and inclusive environment for all residents.”

According to the mayor’s office, the complaints were made by Bloomington locals as well as students.

According to a representative for Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, official reports of the messages in Indianapolis have not yet been sent to the city or IMPD.

Although the FBI had received complaints from citizens of Indiana over the communications, a representative for the Indianapolis FBI office informed that the agency was unable to identify the exact cities that were linked to the complaints.

According to the office of Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, the texts were “troubling, but not surprising.”

“The Indiana Attorney General’s Office and the nationwide Robo Call Task Force will continue their important work to curb these actions, identify the bad actors, and pursue enforcement efforts,” a representative for Rokita’s office stated, referring to previous frauds and robo texts.
Numerous more states, including Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Alabama, California, and New York, reported the anonymous messages.

According to federal authorities, the letters were addressed to middle school pupils as well as Black men, women, and students nationwide.

According to an Associated Press article, the texts varied in verbiage but typically had a similar tone.

Some didn’t specify a specific place, while others told the addressee to arrive at a certain address—designating it a “plantation”—at a specific time “with your belongings.” The next presidential administration was brought up by a few of them.

High school and college students were among the recipients, but it was still unclear who was sending the messages and there was no complete list of where they were sent.

The Federal Communications Commission stated that it was looking into the texts “alongside federal and state law enforcement,” while the FBI stated that it was in contact with the Justice Department on the messages.

“Wireless providers are aware of these threatening spam messages and are aggressively working to block them and the numbers that they are coming from,” stated Nick Ludlum, senior vice president of the trade association for the cellular industry, CTIA.