Target Receives Bomb Threat For ‘Turning Its Back’ On LBGT Community

A Target location in Utah was evacuated on Friday after the store received a bomb threat. Five additional stores were also threatened in Ohio and Pennsylvania through an email that said,” We will continue to bomb your Targets until you stop cowering and bring back your LBGT merchandise,” according to a report from Cleveland 19.

A Target location in Layton, Utah was evacuated on Friday after receiving multiple threats, KUTV reported. The threat was three sentences long and came from a “bogus email address,” Sgt. John Ottesen of the Layton Police Department told reporters.

Elsewhere in Utah, authorities said stores in Salt Lake City, Taylorsville and Provo were also threatened. Police were alerted after threatening emails were sent to local news stations.

Four locations in Northeast Ohio and another location outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania were also threatened in an email to Cleveland 19. “Target is full of [redacted] cowards who turned their back on the LGBT community and decided to cater to homophobic right wing, redneck, bigots, who protested and vandalized their store,” the email to Cleveland 19 read. “We won’t stand idly by as the far right continues to hunt us down.”

“We are sending you a message, we placed a bomb in the following Targets,” the email continued. “We will continue to bomb your Targets until you stop cowering and bring back your LBGT merchandise.”

“We will not be erased, we will not go quietly.”

Cleveland 19 then reported the email to local law enforcement and the FBI.

A threatening email that was sent to Cleveland 19

The threatening email comes as Target is facing a growing boycott over its “pride” collection for children. Notably, attention was particularly drawn to items such as women’s swimsuits labeled as “tuck friendly” and designs by Abprallen, a London-based company known for creating LGBTQ+ clothing and accessories with occult and satanic themes​​.