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FBI zeroes in on ringleaders of racist GroupMe incident







The FBI recently interviewed and obtained search warrants for three Tulsa-area high school graduates in connection with the racist GroupMe messages sent to several Penn freshmen in November following the presidential election.

The FBI filed a search warrant affidavit in the U.S. District Court in Tulsa and said it was “investigating the matter under federal law that prohibits sending interstate messages threatening another person,” according to the Oklahoma Watch.

Those named in the FBI affidavit have not been charged with a crime.

On Nov. 10, several Penn freshmen were added to GroupMe groups called “Trump is Love” and “Mud Men.” Students also received an event invite titled “Daily Lynching” in a message thread that contained a picture of a mass lynching.

Following the incident, students organized a march down to Franklin Field from Huntsman Hall after a town hall meeting attended by Penn President Amy Gutmann.

Students also protested outside of Van Pelt Library and handed out safety pins on Locust Walk in a gesture of solidarity for minority groups on campus.

FBI investigations into the matter traced the messages back to a University of Tulsa student.

The student has since “voluntarily allowed FBI agents to search his phone in December,” according to Oklahoma Watch.

The student also told the FBI that he was added to the “Mud Men” group by a friend after which he proceeded to add between 70 to 150 of his contacts on GroupMe, including Penn students — he initially planned to attend the University.

As part of the investigation, the FBI also interviewed a University of Oklahoma student, who was part of one of the groups. A university spokesman said on Friday that the individual is no longer enrolled, the Oklahoma Watch reported.

The OU student also said that he and two other friends were added to the group by another friend who studies at Tulsa Community College.

The FBI has also obtained search warrants for the residence and phone of the Tulsa Community College student. The student was interviewed by agents while on interim suspension from the school.

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The Tulsa Community College student said that he started the message group called “Trump’s Disciples” and posted the “Daily Lynching” event invitation.

The student also said he invited the OU student, the University of Tulsa student and a third person to join. The Oklahoma Watch reported that after the GroupMe messages began to spread, FBI agents said that the student “became fearful and deleted the app from his phone.”

During the interview with the agents, the student “expressed remorse for his actions and advised he had no intention to harm anyone,” the FBI affidavit said.

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