Texting company tied to Trump official urged supporters to protest

Text-messaging platform Opn Sesame warned people that “Radical Liberals & Dems are trying to steal this election from Trump!”

A texting company operated by one of President Donald Trump’s campaign officials told supporters to rally in Philadelphia on Thursday, claiming Democrats were stealing the presidential election.

Gary Coby is the Trump campaign’s digital director. He is also the CEO of text-messaging platform Opn Sesame and has many GOP clients, including the Republican National Committee. The app was used to spread to misinformation, according to the Associated Press.

Let this guy know how you feel about his company texting election lies to stir up trouble in Philly. Shut down "Opn Sesame". pic.twitter.com/OLYvdYBJL4

— Dick Tugnutts (@DickTugnutts) November 7, 2020

Read More: Joe Biden elected 46th president of the United States

These text messages, a reaction to former Vice President Joe Biden taking the lead nationwide, were sent out to various users, telling them, “ALERT: Radical Liberals & Dems are trying to steal this election from Trump! We need YOU! Show your support at the corner of 12th St. & Arch St. in Philadelphia.”

On Thursday, many votes in Pennsylvania were still being counted at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and Trump was ahead in the state, according to Philly Voice.

Dozens of people calling for stopping the vote count in Pennsylvania due to alleged fraud against President Donald Trump gather on the steps of the State Capital on November 05, 2020 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The activists, many with flags and signs for Trump, have made allegations that votes are being stolen from the president as the race in Pennsylvania continues to tighten in Joe Biden’s favor. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Protests outside the convention center took place between Thursday and Friday and were largely peaceful.

Things took a turn for the worse as more mail-in ballots, which Trump and his supporters were calling illegitimate, were counted.

The state ultimately turned blue and Biden was declared the winner of Pennsylvania and consequently, the presidency.

Read More: A Black woman is going to the White House and we’re about to act a fool

“This kind of message is playing with fire, and we are very lucky that it does not seem to have driven more conflict,” John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto’s online watchdog Citizen Lab, who broke the story, said.

Coby has declined to comment on the app’s viral messages, and a top Trump campaign official has denied any association, saying multiple customers use the app.

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!

The post Texting company tied to Trump official urged supporters to protest appeared first on TheGrio.

from TheGrio https://ift.tt/32kFFMH