Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson's Twitter hacked Friday morning

The Twitter account of Black Lives Matter activist and former Baltimore mayoral candidate DeRay Mckesson was hacked Friday morning, sending out a series of uncharacteristically Mckesson tweets, including an endorsement for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

"I endorse @realDonaldTrump for president. #MAGA " with a fist emoji was tweeted around 10:30 a.m. with a smug picture of Trump.

His next tweet, "I'm not actually black," was followed by references to other Twitter users including Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro, who has referred to Mckesson as a "race baiter" in the past, and Robert Zimmerman, the brother of George Zimmerman who shot and killed Trayvon Martin in 2012.

Deray McKesson's Twitter account was hacked around 10:30 a.m. on Friday. (Screenshot of Deray McKesson's Twitter account)

"What up my brother @rzimmermanjr," the tweet stated, followed by the fist emoji.

Mckesson confirmed that he was hacked on a call with a reporter for The Baltimore Sun, and that he was on the phone with Verizon, and had yet to release a public statement.

Black Lives Matter activist and former Baltimore mayoral candidate Deray McKesson's Twitter account was hacked this morning. A word has been censored for its obscenity. (Screenshot of Deray McKesson's Twitter account)

The original tweets have since been deleted from Mckesson's account.

Mckesson took to his Twitter around 3:45 p.m. to say that his email address, his Twitter account and his phone had been hacked.

“At 10:31 am, someone called @verizon impersonating me and successfully changed my SIM & unsuccessfully attempted to change my phone number,” McKesson tweeted. “By calling @verizon and successfully changing my phone's SIM, the hacker bypassed two-factor verification which I have on all accounts.”

Mckesson also noted that the hacker got the account verification texts, and was able to reset his passwords and redirect his text messages, possibly after retrieving the last four digits of his social security number to gain access to his Verizon account.

“Verizon recorded the call made this morning by the imposter and we are working with lawyers to get the recording. It's been a long day,” he tweeted. Twitter was also helpful, deleting the hacked tweets and giving him access once it was alerted about the attack, he said.

“There’s a long history of people trying to silence those committed to civil rights and justice work. A hacker attempted to silence me and with the support of Twitter and others in tech, I was able to regain access to my accounts quickly,” McKesson told a Baltimore Sun reporter on a phone call that afternoon.

As far as the hacker’s Trump endorsement on his account, McKesson set things straight.

"No, I do not endorse Trump as the next President. He cannot be the President of the United States. He is racist & a bigot, unfit to lead," McKesson tweeted.

Latest Baltimore Insider

*This story will be updated.

Latest Baltimore Insider

Latest Baltimore Insider

Most Read