The Target store on West Tennessee St. in Tallahassee on Dec. 31, 2024. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)
A few days after being named attorney general, James Uthmeier filed a class action against retail giant Target Thursday, claiming it defrauded investors in the process of promoting “radical LGBTQ activism.”
The suit focuses on the Minnesota-based company’s 2023 Pride campaign, a product collection in advance of Pride Month. The collection raised tensions in favor of and against the campaign, ultimately resulting in Target removing some items, moving displays to the back of the store, and releasing an official statement.
Uthmeier’s office, with the help of conservative legal nonprofit America First Legal, claims Target “misled investors by claiming to monitor the social and political risks posed by its DEI (environmental, social, and governance) initiatives.”
“Corporations that push radical leftist ideology at the expense of financial returns jeopardize the retirement security of Florida’s first responders and teachers,” Uthmeier said in a news release. “My office will stridently pursue corporate reform so that companies get back to the business of doing business — not offensive political theatre.”
The campaign caused shareholders to lose $25 billion in six months, the suit claims, with $10 billion of that in the first 10 days.
“This is a fight worth having,” Uthmeier said in a video posted to his X account. “And we will fight to hold Target financially accountable for these wrongful practices, and force them and other corporate giants to get back to the business of doing business.”
Target’s campaign prompted boycotts and bomb threats to stores, USA Today reported.
‘America First agenda’
Uthmeier was sworn in as attorney general Monday, replacing Ashley Moody, appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio.
Surrounded by prominent politicians in Tallahassee, Uthmeier promised to promote an “America First agenda,” and “not stand idly by as the Left tries to infiltrate our institutions and use the court system to indoctrinate our kids.”
“We will use the office of the attorney general to punish criminals, to protect the innocent, and to stand boldly by our brave law enforcement,” Uthmeier said.
America First Legal filed a suit in August 2023 in federal court over the Pride campaign and now has teamed with Uthmeier for the class action filed in the Middle District of Florida court.
“We’ve seen time and time again that when companies prioritize performative virtue signaling and wokeness over profitability, they alienate customers, lose market value, and erode shareholder trust — all while pretending their activism carries no financial risk,” Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said in the news release.
“It’s unacceptable and Florida is fighting back on behalf of taxpayers and investors that have had enough. Businesses like Target need to focus on the bottom line and do right by their customers, not some ESG overlords.”
In January, Target announced it would end its diversity goals.
This story was originally produced by the Florida Phoenix which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network, including the Daily Montanan, supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.