TAMPA, Fla. — Authorities in the United States are investigating after racisttext messages – some with references to “slave catching” and “cotton picking” – were received by children, students and working professionals from unrecognized phone numbers in the presidential elections.

The president of the NAACPwarned Thursday of possible broader implications of hateful rhetoric reported in more than a dozen states in new york TO Nevadaand the District of Columbia. The general prosecutors of both parties are condemningmessages and vow to eliminate their senders.

“The unfortunate reality of electing a president who has historically embraced and sometimes encouraged hatred is unfolding before our eyes,” NAACP CEO. Derrick Johnson said. “These messages represent an alarming increase in hateful and hateful rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hatred and fan the flames of fear many of us feel after Tuesday’s election results.”

Donald TrumpHis presidential campaign “has absolutely nothing to do with these text messages,” her spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear who sent the messages, and there is no complete list to whom they were delivered. At least some seem to have been sent TextNow in what the company “believe(s) … is a widespread, coordinated attack,” it told CNN on Friday.

“As soon as we became aware, our Trust & Safety team acted quickly, quickly deactivating the related accounts in less than an hour,” said the company, whose service allows people to sign up anonymously using an email address and to send texts that appear to be coming. from a randomly generated phone number.

“The texts appear to target black and brown individuals, including college students,” the New York attorney general said.

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

CNN reached out Federal Communications Commission.

Talaya Jones, a black resident of Piscataway, New Jersey, was “shocked” to receive a racist text Wednesday telling her she was “picked to pick cotton from the nearest plantation,” she told CNN Thursday . The text also refers to “executive slave catchers,” a screenshot Jones shared with CNN shows.

“My initial reaction was probably like disbelief, like I thought it was like a joke,” said Jones, who forwarded the text message to loved ones. “It really shows that we haven’t come as far as everyone thought we had as a nation since slavery was still a thing.”

Recipients shocked by “villous” messages.

University of Alabama honors freshman Alysa cried and wanted to go home after receiving a text saying she had been “chosen to pick cotton at the nearest plantation” and should “be prepared to be searched,” said her mother, Arleta McCall. CNN.

“It’s strange that it’s the day after the election. It’s strange that it came to my daughter’s personal phone. It’s weird that it’s only going to address black students,” McCall said. “Her group of friends mapped their way to class so they could go together and stay safe.”

The University of Alabama acknowledged that “people across the country have received these disgusting messages” and urged anyone with information about them to report it, it said in a statement.

“Racist and vile spam text messages” have also spread in Louisiana, Republican state Attorney General Liz Murrill confirmed Thursday. through X. “We have directed the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation to fully investigate the origins of these disgusting texts that are only intended to divide us,” she said, urging anyone affected to report the messages to her office.

Condemning the messages as “disgusting and unacceptable,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, said the “texts appear to target people of color and brown, including students, and may include personal information about the recipient, such as the name or their location. “, she told X. “I unequivocally condemn any attempt to intimidate or threaten New Yorkers and their families.”

The FBI and law enforcement in Maryland are aware that students and others are receiving the texts, Montgomery County Public Schools said in a statement, noting that “police in some areas have announced they are treating the messages as low-level threats.”

“We recognize that the emotional and psychological impact on our students, staff and especially our communities of color is profound,” the school board’s statement said. “We stand in solidarity with those who feel targeted and hurt by these actions.”

Newsman chose to “pick the cotton,” the text says

In Virginia, a news photographer WVEC-TV He received a text message from an unknown phone number, addressed him by name and told him he was “selected to pick cotton from the nearest plantation,” he said.

“I feel like it’s a spam message,” recipient Sam Burwell said in a story posted by the station. “I feel disappointed by the message I am sending a day after the election.”

Overall, the Virginia attorney general’s office is “aware of these text messages and condemns them unequivocally,” spokeswoman Chloe Smith said, noting that “anyone who believes they are under threat should not hesitate to contact local law enforcement, as well as the local FBI office. .”

A racist text message from an unknown number also arrived in the name of Laura Bass-Brown’s 15-year-old daughter, she told CNN affiliate KHOU 11 News in the Houston area. At first it seemed automated, but after reviewing screenshots from her daughter’s friends, she found that the sender often responded when students responded, Bass-Brown said.

The Nevada Attorney General’s Office is working with law enforcement to investigate “the source of what appear to be robotext messages,” the office said. in a statement on X.

And in Washington, DC, the attorney general’s office is also “aware of the racist text messages being sent to residents there, unequivocally condemning them,” said spokesman Gabriel Shoglow-Rubenstein.

“Anyone receiving these messages should contact our civil rights section by calling 202-727-3400 or emailing [email protected]. If you believe your safety is at risk, please contact local law enforcement,” he said in a statement to CNN.

TextNow is “working with our industry partners to uncover more details and continue to monitor patterns to actively block any new accounts attempting to send these messages,” the company told CNN on Friday. “We do not condone or condone the use of our service to send harassing or spam messages, and we will work with the authorities to prevent these people from doing so in the future.”