Police investigated bomb threats against Target stores in Utah after they were alerted by local media who received emails referring to the retail chain’s LGBTQ groups to celebrate Pride Month.
Salt Lake City Police Communications Director Brent Weisberg told USA TODAY that officers worked with Target and determined there was no credible threat to the two Target stores in Salt Lake City.
“Out of an abundance of caution, officers will continue to conduct neighborhood patrols around the targeted locations in Salt Lake City,” Weisberg said in a statement.
Weisberg declined to provide details about the threats, citing an ongoing investigation.
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“We encourage anyone who sees anything suspicious to immediately call 9-1-1,” he said.
In a statement to USA TODAY, Target said its stores are open and operating regular hours.
“Law enforcement investigated these allegations and determined that our stores are safe,” the company said.
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Sgt. John Ottesen of Layton Police told CBS affiliate KUTV 2News that bomb threats have been made at Target stores in Layton, Salt Lake, Taylorsville and Provo.
He said officers began the investigation after two new local stations received emails alerting them to the threats. The threats referred to Target Pride merchandise.
The threat was three sentences long and came from a “fake email address,” according to Sergeant Ottesen.
Target has experienced backlash over the merchandise it carries to promote Pride Month. Target’s website carries hundreds of Pride products, including T-shirts, books, and bedding. Pride month begins in June.
After critics posted videos of people attacking LGBTQ Pride shows and confronting employees at Target stores, the company held emergency meetings and decided to remove or move some Pride merchandise so that it would be less visible in stores.
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At issue was the spread of misinformation about “tuck-friendly” swimwear that allows trans women who have not had gender-affirming procedures to hide male genitalia. Some social media accounts falsely claimed that swimwear was being sold in children’s sizes.
The Conservatives also seized on Target’s partnership with Aprallen, which they claimed featured Satanic designs. Target sells an Aprallen sweatshirt with a snake that says, “Treat transphobia, not trans people.”
Hundreds of bills targeting LGBT people — and especially transgender people — have been introduced by Republican lawmakers in statehouses across the country, seeking to regulate which bathrooms they can use, which medical care they can receive and which sports teams they can play on.
Senior GOP figures such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is campaigning for the GOP presidential nomination, have raised divisive issues such as transgender sponsorship for minors.
LGBTQ groups have condemned Target for caving in to political pressure.
“Extremist groups and individuals are working to divide us, and in the end they don’t just want rainbow products to disappear, they want us to disappear,” Kelly Robinson, chair of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. The LGBTQ+ community celebrated Pride with Target – it’s time Target stood with us and doubled down on their commitment to us.”
On Twitter, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, slammed Target CEO Brian Cornell, accusing him of “selling out the LGBTQ+ community to extremists.”
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