The FBI issued a statement on November 15th and included details of text campaigns that have expanded from racist texts targeting Black people to “high school students, as well as both the Hispanic and LGBTQIA+ communities. Some recipients reported being told they were selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp. The messages have also been reported as being received via email communication.”
“Re-education camps” may allude to the discredited and dangerous practice of so-called “conversion therapy” which is now banned in at least 22 states and 115 municipalities.
The FBI urges anyone who has received the harassing messages to report the details to the FBI by phone at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov.
The texting campaign follows a multi-million dollar surge of anti-transgender political ads and campaign rhetoric from politicians and groups with proven records of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policy proposals. GLAAD has documented these records on the GLAAD Accountability Project. For example, false and dehumanizing anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and fraudulent text messaging campaigns were deployed during the 2020 election to cell phones in Pennsylvania by American Principles Project.
Research on the 2024 anti-transgender campaign ads shows they did not motivate voter choices, but did undermine support for transgender people.
Additional analysis shows a dramatic rise of violent and harassing messages aimed at women and girls online and in schools in the days immediately following the election.
“All leaders and public figures must speak out against behavior and words that make every American less safe, and work to strengthen protections for all communities under attack,” said GLAAD President and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis.
“Anti-LGBTQ politicians cannot choose silence over safety. Americans can and should follow the ball here: these horrific texts come on the heels of a right wing smear campaign that targeted and dehumanized transgender people. LGBTQ people and all marginalized people deserve safety and protection from dangerous and disgusting rhetoric and intimidation tactics.”
GLAAD tracks anti-LGBTQ incidents via its ALERT Desk (Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker), including reports submitted by LGBTQ people. Anti-LGBTQ incidents rose by 112% over the last two years including murders, assault, bomb threats, and vandalism. The ALERT Desk now includes a comprehensive visual tool to sort the data by date, location, type of attack, and the most frequent targets of attacks, including drag performers, educators, and health care providers.
