Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is working to protect Georgians from discriminatory threats.
Today, Sen. Ossoff is launching an inquiry with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) pushing them to fully investigate racist, threatening text messages targeting Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQ Georgians.
According to FOX5 Atlanta, some messages suggested Black recipients had been “selected to pick cotton” and warned of consequences if they didn’t comply. Victims, including a 14-year-old girl, and their families were left scared and in shock, prompting them to contact authorities.
Later, according to Atlanta News First, threatening text messages were sent to high school students, including many Latino Georgians and some in the LGBTQ community.
“These mass communications are an attack on the safety and dignity of Georgians and they may violate federal and state laws.” Sen. Ossoff wrote to Attorney General Garland and FBI Director Wray. “It is imperative that the Department of Justice fully investigate these hateful threats and harassment, including of children.”
Sen. Ossoff continues working to support victims of discrimination.
Last month, Sens. Ossoff and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced the Stopping Political Discrimination in Disaster Assistance Act to prohibit in Federal law any political discrimination in the provision of Federal disaster assistance.
This spring, a bipartisan bill backed by Sen. Ossoff that would prevent employers from using forced arbitration against older workers seeking justice and accountability in cases of age discrimination passed the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
In 2022, after his year-long effort to gather Democratic and Republican support for the legislation, Sen. Ossoff successfully passed the bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act through the Senate to strengthen workplace protections for pregnant workers in Georgia and nationwide.
Click here to read Sen. Ossoff’s inquiry.
# # #
