Bomb threats were made against a number of Target locations this week nationwide for supposedly “betraying the LGBTQ+ community” by restricting the sale of select Pride Month merchandise in response to the intense outrage the retailer has been subjected to.
The bomb threats made against retailers in Oklahoma, New York, New Hampshire, Ohio, Vermont, Louisiana, Utah, and Pennsylvania are now being looked into by the FBI.
After receiving criticism for their Pride collection, featuring “tuck-friendly” female swimsuits, Target initiated “emergency” calls to managers as well as senior directors just a few weeks ago. This is when the threats first surfaced. Target’s market value has decreased by more than $15 billion after JPMorgan said that it was lowering the shares due to “recent business controversies”.
“Target is packed with cowards that turned their backs on the LGBT population and opted to cater to a group of homophobic right-wing hillbilly bigots that demonstrated and destroyed their retail establishment,” according to a threat sent to locations in Ohio, Utah, and Pennsylvania.
Seven establishments in Oklahoma was given threats that started, “We are getting ready to play a game,” and mentioned the date of the Oklahoma City explosion, which left 168 people dead.
The email added, “2 of these Target stores have bombs in them. We concealed the explosives among some merchandise. Guess which stores contain the bombs since they will go off in a few hours. Time is running out.”
According to The Washington Post, people who made the threats accused the retailer of “betraying the LGBTQ+ community.”
According to reports, emails were sent to Target shops in Louisiana accusing them of caving in to “the demands of the far-right extremists who are seeking to exterminate us.”
