Louisiana among five states where Target stores received bomb threats over Pride items

The incidents come after Target received criticism for their LGBTQ+ initiatives, with the retail chain announcing last month that it removed some Pride Month merchandise after facing backlash from customers, citing concerns about their workers' safety.

(The Hill) - Target stores in at least five U.S. states had to be evacuated over the weekend after receiving bomb threats, which tie into the recent backlash the U.S.-based retail chain received for its Pride Month merchandise. 

The Washington Post reported on Monday that local news outlets in parts of Oklahoma, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Louisiana received emails from unknown individuals about bomb threats at the stores. 

In one email sent to Oklahoma City NBC affiliate KFOR, which is owned by Nexstar Media Group, the individual listed seven locations in and around the Oklahoma City area, claiming that two of the locations already had bombs in them, adding that they hid the bombs inside of products. 

“The bombs will detonate in several hours, guess which ones have the bombs. Time is ticking,” the email reads, also ending with the date “4/19/1995,” the date of the Oklahoma City bombing.  

Oklahoma City Police Department spokesperson Gary Knight said that several news outlets notified them about the emailed threats, adding that after evacuating the listed stores as a precaution, authorities didn’t find any suspicious items, according to the Post. 

South Burlington, Vt. police chief Shawn Burke said that news outlets in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York all received the same email bomb threat over the weekend, which accused the retail chain of betraying the LGBTQ+ community, also naming the locations of four stores in the three states including South Burlington. 

“I think it had quite an impact locally,” Burke said, the Post reported. “It makes people a little bit uneasy to think about what’s going on. We’re more and more seeing this type of behavior in terms of swatting at schools locally and in terms of stores like Target [nationally].” 

The recent incidents come after Target received criticism for their LGBTQ+ initiatives, with the retail chain announcing last month that it removed some Pride Month merchandise in its stores after facing backlash from customers, citing concerns about their workers' safety.

After the announcement, company stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Utah received bomb threats from people who were claiming to be unhappy with the removal of the Pride merchandise, the Post reported. 

The Target controversy also follows Bud Light, which received backlash for its partnership with transgender actress and influencer Dylan Mulvaney. 

The Hill has reached out to Target for comment and more information on the matter.