Atlanta Congresswoman Nikema Williams and two other Democratic representatives are urging the FBI and the Department of Justice to prosecute anyone involved in the string of threats to several HBCUs earlier this month. Williams and representatives from Virginia and Louisiana sent a joint letter to FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney Pam Bondi seeking justice.

Williams is urging both the FBI and DOJ to “prosecute any persons found to have made these threats to the fullest extent of the law, including consideration of whether any actions violated federal, state, or local hate crimes or anti-terrorism statutes,” according to her letter.

On September 11, several HBCUs received threats from an anonymous source, forcing the institutions to take precautionary measures, including locking down campus and canceling classes. Threats were made to several HBCUs across the country, including Clark Atlanta University, Virginia State University, Hampton University, and Southern University.

Here is the full letter:

Dear Attorney General Bondi and Director Patel:

We write to you today concerning recent reports that students, faculty, and staff at Clark Atlanta University, Alabama State University, Virginia State University, Hampton University, Bethune-Cookman University, Southern University, and Morgan State University faced threats to campus on September 11th and 12th, 2025. 1Other universities, including Spelman College, locked down or cancelled classes out of an abundance of caution. 2The 5th Congressional District of Georgia is the proud home of the largest consortium of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the country—including Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Morris Brown College, Spelman College, and the Interdenominational Theological Center. Across the country, these and other HBCUs are under threat.

We echo our colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in urging the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to fully investigate the recent threats to HBCUs. Further, we urge the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute any persons found to have made these threats to the fullest extent of the law, including consideration of whether any actions violated federal, state, or local hate crime or anti-terrorism statutes.

Many HBCUs were founded in the Reconstruction Era to provide a source for education for communities excluded from existing formal education. They have become a source of pride, resilience, and investment within Black communities. When there are threats to HBCU campuses, the intended message is clear: institutions of Black communities and hubs for Black achievement are not safe.

Threats of violence and targeting Black students and institutions are an ongoing and extreme threat against Black communities. While we are grateful that last week’s threats were not carried out, violence against Black communities is a real and present danger. The Department of Justice reports that in 2024, the majority (53.3%) of all hate crimes were motivated by race, ethnicity, or ancestry-related bias.Further, a recent analysis of FBI data shows that hate crime incidents have doubled since 2015 and are at an all-time high since hate crime data began to be collected in 1991. Frighteningly, hate crimes against Black people have increased even more drastically—rising by 81%—since 2015.

We cannot and will not stand by while students are unable to learn, while institutions are on edge, and while our communities are not safe. We stand with the students, faculty, and staff that call HBCUs home, and we urge you to fully investigate the disturbing threats made against HBCUs across the country last week.

Williams was joined by Virginia representative Bobby Scott and Louisiana representative Cleo Fields on the letter.

Williams and her counterparts are not the first people pleading for the FBI and DOJ to fully investigate the threats. Both the Congressional Black Caucus and the president of the NAACP have called for a full investigation into the matter.

The threats came a day after conservative figure Charlie Kirk was killed during a rally at Utah Valley University on September 10.