LGBTQ radicals reportedly deluged Target with bomb threats in retaliation to the retail giant pulling back on some of its Pride Month merchandise after significant backlash.
The bomb threats were allegedly made against several Target stores in at least three states: Utah, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. An email to one Cleveland store that Cleveland 19 News reviewed indicated that radical LGBTQ activists may have been behind the threats.
“Target is full of cowards who turned their back on the LGBT community and decided to cater to the homophobic right-wing redneck bigots who protested and vandalized their store,” the email reportedly read.
In Utah, Salt Lake City police communications director Brent Weisberg told USA TODAY that officers determined that no “credible threat” had been directed at the two stores in the city.
“Officers will continue neighborhood patrols around the Target locations in Salt Lake City out of an abundance of caution,” Weisberg said in a statement.
“We encourage anyone who sees anything suspicious to immediately call 911,” he added.
Target Pride Month merchandise display (Phillip Pessar/Flickr)
Target said in a statement that stores will remain open and with regular hours, entrusting the matter to law enforcement.
“Law enforcement investigated these claims and determined our stores are safe,” the company said.
Bomb threats were also made to Target stores in Layton, Taylorsville, and Provo. Sgt. John Ottesen with Layton Police also told the CBS affiliate KUTV 2 News that the bomb threats directed toward the area’s Target mentioned Pride Merchandise and came from a “bogus email address.”
As Breitbart News reported last week, Target sparked considerable backlash with the release of its LGBTQIA2S+ “Pride Collection” for the month of June — including clothes from U.K.-based designer Abprallen, whose past work included the phrases “Satan loves you” and “Satan respects pronouns.” Other items included in the Pride Collection were “tuck-friendly” bathing suits typically designed for male genitalia in women’s styles. In response to the massive backlash, Target pulled some of the items from its stores, charging that team members received “threats” without citing evidence.
“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement.
“Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior,” the company added.
LGBTQ activists accused Target of abandoning their commitment to the cause in the face of political backlash.
“Extremist groups and individuals work to divide us and ultimately don’t just want rainbow products to disappear, they want us to disappear,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. “For the past decade, the LGBTQ+ community has celebrated Pride with Target −it’s time that Target stands with us and doubles-down on their commitment to us.”
Related: Pride Merchandise Being Sold at Target Includes Coloring Books for Children
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Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.