It’s not every day you see bomb squads and K9 units storming your local Target—but that’s exactly what happened in Utah back in May 2023. Picture it: a quiet afternoon in Layton, Utah turns into a scene out of a bad action movie. Shoppers sprinting out of the store with half-full carts, employees standing in the parking lot wondering if they signed up for hazard pay, and the police combing through aisles of throw pillows and rainbow mugs looking for explosives. Why? Because someone got really, really mad that Target pulled back on its Satan-themed, gender-fluid merchandise.
Yes, you read that right. Bomb threats were phoned in to multiple Targets across Utah—Layton, Salt Lake, Taylorsville, and Provo—and also five stores in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The shared target? Target. The reason? The corporate chain dared to remove some of its more, shall we say, “bold” Pride month products. That includes children’s books like “Bye Bye, Binary” and mugs that proudly declared “gender fluid”—not to mention merchandise from a brand literally named after Satanic themes.
Now, let’s not sugarcoat it. This wasn’t some lone nut with a fake email address and too much time on their hands. The emails sent to local news outlets were dripping with rage. The self-proclaimed trans activists behind the threats accused Target of bowing to “homophobic right wing, redneck bigots.” Their words, not mine. They vowed to “continue to bomb” Targets until the company stopped “cowering” and brought back the LGBTQ merchandise.
It’s almost as if these radicals were more upset about losing shelf space than they were about actual violence. But here’s the kicker: Salt Lake City Police said there was no credible threat. So, the question becomes—was this a real attempt at terrorism, a political tantrum, or both?
And let’s zoom out for a second. This isn’t just about Target or a few questionable products. This is about power, fear, and who gets to control the narrative. For years, the Left has weaponized identity politics like a crowbar, prying open every institution—from schools to corporations—until they snap. When they win, they celebrate. When they lose? They threaten to blow up a store.
And let’s not forget who helped pave the way for this madness: Target cozying up with GLSEN, a group that lobbies for keeping parents in the dark about their kids’ gender transitions at school. Oh, and they also push sexually explicit books into elementary classrooms. So yeah, maybe backing off Satan-themed onesies wasn’t the worst PR move.
But the real story here isn’t about merchandise. It’s about intimidation. It’s about a woke mob that thinks the only acceptable form of free speech is theirs—and if you dare to push back, they’ll try to scare you into submission. Whether it’s threatening parents at school board meetings or calling in bomb threats over retail decisions, the pattern is always the same: comply or face the consequences.
Now, imagine if the political roles were reversed. If a conservative group had threatened Target for promoting gender ideology to toddlers, you’d never hear the end of it. The media would run 24/7 coverage, Merrick Garland would be launching investigations, and MSNBC would be holding candlelight vigils.
But since it was far-left activists making the threats? Crickets. No CNN panels. No White House press briefings. Just another day in the tolerant, inclusive utopia of radical gender politics.
So, the next time someone tells you the culture war is just a distraction, remind them: the bomb squad doesn’t show up for distractions.
And if this is how far some people are willing to go over mugs and children’s books, just imagine what they’ll do when they start losing elections.