The texting service says it has closed accounts that allegedly sent racist text messages

(ABC NEWS) – A texting service said Friday it had discovered “one or more” of its users who had allegedly been sending messages racist text messages to phone numbers across the country and that the agency quickly closed the accounts.

A representative of TextNow, a wireless carrier that allows people to create toll-free phone numbers, told ABC News that the company was cooperating with law enforcement and condemned the vile messages sent to users this week.

The texts, which tell the user they will be taken to a plantation to “pick cotton,” have been reported in at least 14 states and appeared to mainly target black users, from teens to adults, researchers in several states said.

The messages address the recipients by name.

The TextNow representative said that once the accounts allegedly behind the text messages were found, their teams disabled the accounts within an hour.

“As part of our investigation into these messages, we learned that they were sent via multiple carriers in the US and we are working with partners and law enforcement to investigate this attack,” the representative said in a statement.

“We do not condone or tolerate the use of our service to send messages intended to harass or spam others, and will cooperate with authorities to prevent these individuals from doing so in the future,” the representative added .

One text message reviewed by ABC News read: “You have been selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation. Make sure you are ready with your belongings promptly at 12 noon. Our executive slaves will come and pick you up in a brown van. Be prepared to be searched as soon as you enter the plantation. You are in plantation group W.”

As of Friday, the texts were reported by authorities in California, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and New York.

Local and federal investigators, including the FBI, said they were looking into the messages and urged anyone who received them to contact authorities. The probes are ongoing.

A senior law enforcement official told ABC News that it has not yet been determined whether the source of the racist lyrics is domestic or foreign, but efforts are underway to determine the origins of the sources.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a video statement posted on X On Friday it emerged that “some” of the racist text messages “can be traced to a VPN in Poland.”

“At this point, they have not found an original source – meaning they could come from a bad actor state in the region or the world. We will continue to investigate,” Murrill said.

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson condemned the lyrics, saying many in the Black community are already on edge over what he laments is an increase in racist rhetoric during election season.

“These reports represent an alarming increase in vile and disgusting rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and fan the flames of fear that many of us are feeling following Tuesday’s election results,” she said. Johnson.