Racist text messages addressed to Illinois residents
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul publicly condemned the lyrics and released a statement expressing his anger and concern.
CHICAGO – Federal and state investigations are underway as racist, offensive text messages are circulating across the country targeting Black Americans.
Illinois officials confirmed that state residents are among those who received the texts, which contain hateful language and alarming references to slavery, plantations and deadlines for certain locations.
Reports indicate that these messages have reached the cellphones of Black individuals in multiple states over the past 24 hours, including New York, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana and Ohio.
The Louisiana Attorney General’s Cyber Unit reported that some messages were traced to a virtual private network (VPN) in Poland, although federal authorities have not yet confirmed this link.
On Friday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul publicly condemned the lyrics and released a statement expressing his anger and concern.
“Hate has no place in the state of Illinois,” Raoul said. “Total stop. I am outraged by the reports of these offensive, racist texts and am especially saddened to learn that these hate-filled messages have even been received by students, including in Illinois.”
Raoul encouraged anyone who received these messages to report them to the Illinois Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau.