Police charged six eighth graders Thursday for allegedly making “hateful and racist comments” in a group chat that allegedly included threats and a mock slave auction, ABC News reported.
The Massachusetts middle schoolers’ alleged interaction on Snapchat from Feb. 8 to Feb. 9 allegedly included numerous “hateful and racist comments, including notions of violence toward people of color, racial slurs, derogatory pictures and videos, and a mock slave auction directed at two juveniles known to them,” Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said at a press conference, the outlet noted. (RELATED: ‘Grave Concerns’: House Education Committee Demands Documents Related To Elite University’s Handling Of Antisemitism)
The alleged chat was promptly reported to school authorities on Feb. 9 and police were notified soon after, Gulluni said, according to the outlet. Gulluni said that he became acquainted with the case on Feb. 15 and opened an investigation into the matter, ABC News noted.
Six Massachusetts eighth graders face criminal charges in connection with “hateful and racist comments” in a group chat that allegedly included threats and a mock slave auction, officials said. https://t.co/olQJ27NWzf
— ABC News (@ABC) March 14, 2024
All six students were charged with the threat to commit a crime, with two students being additionally charged with interference with civil rights, according to the local district attorney’s office, the outlet reported. One of the two students was also charged with witness interference, according to the outlet.
“With this I intend to be very clear: Hatred and racism have no place in this community, and where this behavior becomes criminal, I will ensure that we act — and act with swift resolve, as we did here — to uncover it and bring it to the light of justice,” Gulluni said, according to ABC News.
Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Willard described the incident in an email on Feb. 12 as a “highly inappropriate and racist conversation on Snapchat that involved students at Southwick Regional School,” WCVB reported. “[T]he District firmly believes that racism and discrimination have no place in our school community.”