PITTSBURGH — The FBI says racist messages are targeting Black men and women across the country, including in Pittsburgh.
Channel 11 spoke with Aisha Mariner, a local woman who says the message she received left her horrified.
“It says, greetings Aisha Mariner, you have been selected to be a slave. We will pick you up at 11 a.m.,” Mariner said.
The text goes on to say, “If you resist there will be consequences.”
The wording in each text is slightly different, but there are also similarities.
They use the person’s first and last name, telling them to report to a plantation to work as a slave.
“Who does that? I was so thrown off. Who sits around and thinks of something like this,” Mariner said.
The text messages were received hours after the presidential election, Mariner says it’s a clear sign that racism is very much present.
“People feel empowered now to say the stuff they say behind closed doors, but now they think it’s ok to say it out loud and do whatever they want and we are supposed to just accept it,” she said.
The FBI released a statement from the national office saying:
“The FBI is aware of the offensive and racist text messages sent to individuals around the country and is in contact with the Justice Department and other federal authorities on the matter.
“As always, we encourage members of the public to report threats of physical violence to local law enforcement authorities.”
Investigators still don’t know where these texts are coming from.
If you get one, report it to the Federal Trade Commission by forwarding it to 7726.
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