Massachusetts Middle School Students Face CRIMINAL CHARGES For Alleged ‘Racism’ In Private Group Chat

A group of middle school students in Massachusetts are facing “hate crime” charges due to alleged “racist” messages that were shared in a private group chat.

Six eighth grade students between the ages of 13 and 14 were charged with threats to commit a crime, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni. Two of the teenagers were charged with interference with civil rights, and one was charged with witness interference.

The group is accused of holding a “mock slave auction” on Snapchat in which they placed “bids” on their black classmates. While speaking to reporters, Gulluni said the students “expressed 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.”

The students were immediately suspended “as an emergency removal per state law,” when the incident was reported on February 12, the prosecutor said.

“There is no question that the alleged behavior in this case of these six juveniles is vile, cruel and contemptible,” Gulluni said. “Seeing it, and facing the reality that these thoughts, that this ugliness can exist within middle-school students here in this community in 2024 is discouraging, unsettling and deeply frustrating.”

The prosecutor then assured reporters — who gathered for a press conference on eighth graders saying mean words in a private group chat — that the community will get through this together.

Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Willard informed district parents of the incident in a February 12 statement. “We can assure the community that the district does issue consequences in accordance with our school code of conduct in these types of circumstances,” the statement read. “As stated in our original email to the community, the district firmly believes that racism and discrimination have no place in our school community.”

Allyson Lopez, a parent of one of the students allegedly mentioned in the “slave auction,” insinuated that criminal charges are not enough when speaking with local media. “If they have this level of hate in them now at this tender age of 13 and 14, it worries me,” she said. “I know this is not something we can just walk away from.”