Massachusetts students receive ‘racist’ text messages after the election, police investigate

Local police are investigating “abhorrent racist” text messages sent to students as part of a national post-election trend.

Stoughton Public Schools administrators were alerted Thursday that six students, including students of color, received the racist text messages.

The anonymous messages have also been reported in several states, including Alabama, California, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Stoughton Public Schools contacted the Stoughton Police Department and the department began an investigation. The police are investigating whether the text messages were aimed at specific students.

“The Stoughton Police Department takes this abhorrent racist behavior very seriously and we are committed to conducting a thorough investigation to determine the source of these messages,” Police Chief Donna McNamara said in a statement.

“There is no place for racism in any form in our schools, our community or our society, and we will remain steadfast in our efforts to eradicate it,” the police chief added.

The Stoughton Police Department is working with the Massachusetts State Police and the Commonwealth Fusion Center to share information and investigate the case. The Stoughton Police Department also continues to work with Stoughton Public Schools.

Police are asking any Stoughton students who have received a similar text message to contact the Stoughton Police Department at 781-344-2424.

The FBI issued a statement Thursday regarding the national trend of racist text messages.

“The FBI is aware of the offensive and racist text messages being sent to individuals across the country and is in contact with the Department of Justice and other federal authorities regarding this matter,” the FBI said in a statement.

“As always, we encourage the public to report threats of physical violence to local law enforcement authorities,” the FBI added.

The Associated Press reported that some texts instructed the recipient to show up at a certain address at a certain time “with your belongings,” while others did not specify a location. Some of them mentioned the incoming Trump administration.

Tasha Dunham of Lodi, California, told the AP that her 16-year-old daughter showed her one of the messages Wednesday evening.

The text not only used her daughter’s name, but also instructed her to report to a “plantation” in North Carolina, where Dunham said they never lived. When they looked up the address, it was the location of a museum.

Missouri NAACP President Nimrod Chapel said Black students who are members of the organization’s Missouri State University chapter received texts citing Trump’s victory and mentioning them by name as being “selected to pick cotton” next Tuesday.

“This is terrorism, plain and simple,” Chapel said in a statement. “It points to a well-organized and resourced group that has decided to target Americans on our home turf based on the color of our skin. Targeted schools and law enforcement agencies must take these reports seriously and act quickly to prevent the escalation into physical violence.”

Herald Wire services were used in this report.