Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Thursday filed a class-action lawsuit against the retail corporation Target for defrauding investors and "sexualizing children" in one of his first acts as the state's chief prosecutor.
Uthmeier, sworn into the post on Monday, claimed that Target purposely misled investors by failing to disclose that its 2023 Pride campaign, complete with rainbow clothing and trans-friendly swimwear, would be controversial enough to drop the company's stock price.
"While Target told their investors they would keep the company out of controversy to protect the stock price, the retailer engaged in a marketing campaign targeting and sexualizing children," said Uthmeier in a video posted to social media minutes after the class action was filed. "This radical campaign predictably caused Target's stock price to plummet, wiping out $10 billion in market value in just 10 days."
The suit was filed by the Florida State Board of Administration, the agency in charge of retirement pensions, and America First Legal, a nonprofit conservative group founded by President Donald Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. It alleges that Target violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by failing to disclose "known risks" of customer backlash to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. It also claims that Target put "left-wing activism" ahead of shareholder returns.
Target, which operates roughly 2,000 stores nationwide, faced massive backlash for its 2023 Pride campaign. This included adding LGBTQ-friendly clothing, swimwear, and books. In his Thursday video, Uthmeier blasted its "rainbow sports bras for boys" and "books for kids that asked them to question their biological reality."
Following President Trump's lead, Target promised on Jan. 24 to remove its DEI policies.
The former Chief of Staff to Gov. Ron DeSantis, Uthmeier touched on one of the DeSantis administration's biggest topics: transgender issues. DeSantis' second term in office, marked by his failed presidential bid, was chock full of gender identity and sexuality discussions, including bans on transgender athletes in women's sports, sexuality discussions in elementary school, and transgender surgeries for minors.
Uthmeier was appointed to Attorney General on Monday after its former occupant, Ashley Moody, was appointed to the U.S. Senate. Moody, Florida's second female Attorney General, took over former Sen. Marco Rubio's seat after Trump poached Rubio to become the Secretary of State.
"No company should be celebrating and marketing the sexualization of our children," Uthmeier added.
