After the presidential election, there was a spike in incidents involving neo-Nazi marches and racist and hateful messages sent online, stoking fear for people in a number of states across the country.

Stephanie Sy has more on this. It's part of our race matters coverage.

William in Waterloo, Iowa earlier this month, some residents received flyers advertising

the Aryan Freedom Network.

That same week in Michigan, men waved Nazi flags outside a community theater production

of the Diary of Anne Frank.

Days later, in Columbus, Ohio, a small group of neo-Nazi men carried swastika flags.

And since the election, black, Latino, and LGBTQ Americans in at least 25 states, including

kids and teens, have been subjected to racist text messages. The messages told recipients to report to a plantation to pick cotton.

Destiny LaGrone, a New Yorker, was one of the recipients of those texts.

I truly felt fearful because this was the day after the election.

I didn't know if the winner of the election gave the authority for people to push hate,

but then also fearing for my safety in the sense of who was able to obtain my information

and violate my personal space as in contacting me to send such a thing.

Who has that type of hate in their heart?

For more on these incidents and what can be done, I'm joined by Margaret Huang,

President and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that monitors hate and extremism in the U.S.

Margaret, thank you so much for joining the NewsHour.

As you know, the FBI is investigating those texts, but as of now, we have no clearer sense of who sent them.

Based on the content, Margaret, what do you make of these mass texts and what is the intention behind them?

It's really clear to us that hate and extremist groups are using the election of Donald Trump as an encouragement to cause

fear and anxiety in communities of color, in religious communities, and in the LGBTQ community.

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