Indiana AG Todd Rokita calls out Target over LGBTQ+ support. We fact-check his claims.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is leading a public effort to put Target on notice over its LGBTQ Pride merchandise after the collection drew massive backlash across conservative news and social media outlets.

Rokita penned a letter signed by six other state attorneys general expressing "legal concern" to Target CEO Brian Cornell about the company's promotion and sale of certain products, citing state obscenity laws as well as new laws on the books regarding transgender identities.

The letter calls the merchandise "potentially harmful products to minors" and says Target's leaders may have acted negligently in launching the collection, as Target's stock price dropped in the aftermath and Indiana's government employees are invested in the Target Corporation.

However, the letter is partly based on false or misleading assertions that went viral. Several of the pieces of clothing cited in the letter have either not actually been sold at Target or weren't marketed for children.

More: Todd Rokita's focus on abortion case reflects national trend of politicizing AG offices

IndyStar spelled out the discrepancies to the attorney general's office via email. Other than clarifying the state's financial interest in Target, a spokesperson said only that the letter speaks for itself.

In an interview with WIBC's Hammer and Nigel show, Rokita said he wrote the letter as a counterbalance to one signed by 15 other attorneys general in mid-June, in which they expressed concern over Target's removing of some Pride merchandise and urged Target to "stand firm in the face of intimidation and discrimination."

He tied the letter to the debate surrounding Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance, a practice of considering those issues while making investments and business decisions, with which Rokita disagrees.

"It’s telling the CEO of Target, that, look, go back to selling socks and underwear like you did before… instead of this 'tuck-friendly' nonsense," Rokita said.

Target clothing: The claims and the facts

"Target wittingly marketed and sold LGBTQIA+ promotional products to families and young children as part of a comprehensive effort to promote gender and sexual identity among children," the letter reads.

Those products, according to the letter, included:

• T-shirts labeled "Girls Gays Theys" and “Pride Adult Drag Queen Katya”. FACT: Both are marketed in the "adult" Pride section, though the first T-shirt appears to have been removed from the website.

• "Girls’ swimsuits" with “tuck-friendly construction” and “extra crotch coverage” for male genitalia. FACT: Those phrases came from a viral social media post of a picture of a bathing suit tag, but no indication of what section the suit was found in. A Target spokesperson told the Associated Press that those swimsuits are only offered in adult sizes, and the kids swimsuits in the Pride collection do not have this label.

• Products by "Satanist-inspired" brand Abprallen. FACT: Target did partner with Abprallen to sell some of the designer's merchandise. Designer Erik Carnell told USA TODAY that the three products Target sold were a fanny pack that says “We Belong Everywhere,” a tote that says “Too Queer For Here” and a sweatshirt that says “Cure Transphobia, Not Trans People." After the social media firestorm over the Pride collection, Target removed the Abprallen-brand merchandise, a spokesperson told Reuters.

• Products with "anti-Christian" and Satanic designs, such as a T-shirt with the phrase “Satan Respects Pronouns” with a horned ram, an occult symbol. FACT: Neither that T-shirt nor any other Satan-referenced material from Abprallan were sold at Target, Carnell told USA TODAY. Abprallen references Satan as inspiration on its social media pages and sells other merchandise referencing Satan on its website, including that specific T-shirt, but not at Target.

That leaves mention of "LGBT-themed onesies, bibs, and overalls," which likely refers to the rainbow-colored baby clothes captured in social media videos inside Target. On Target's online store, the only item in the "baby clothes" section of the Pride collection is rainbow socks.

Indiana economy: Since RFRA, Indiana businesses losing leverage in the Statehouse

Claims about GLSEN, an advocacy group for LGBTQ+ students

The letter also repeats a claim on conservative news sites that Target gives money to an organization that supports "secret gender transitions for kids" and directs public schools to withhold information about a student's gender identity from their parents.

FACT: Target has partnered with GLSEN, an organization that advocates for anti-bullying policies and laws that support LGBTQ+ students, for 12 years and had donated $2.1 million as of June 2022. The group's model policy for educators indeed says staff should not disclose a student's gender identity to others, including parents, without the student's permission.

According to a footnote in the letter, the phrase "secret gender transitions" comes from an article in the Daily Caller that paints the model policy in that light. This was reported by Fox News days earlier and repeated by several conservative news sites.

In the letter, Rokita says Target's relationship with GLSEN raises concerns under the state's child-protection and new "parental rights" laws.

The child-protection laws he references penalize the sale of "obscene matter" and "material harmful to minors." According to state law and national precedent upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, the threshold for this kind of material includes multiple tests, including that it appeals predominantly to "prurient" interests, or in other words, an excessive interest in sex, and that the "average person" finds it patently offensive.

A debate around parental involvement and potentially "outing" children played out at the Indiana Statehouse this session. Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law House Bill 1608, which requires schools to notify parents if their child requests a name or pronoun change at school.

More top news: Larry Nassar stabbed while serving prison time for sexually abusing gymnasts

Is Rokita's letter discriminatory?

Some legal experts think the letter may open up a can of worms for Rokita.

In writing a public letter on official state letterhead, Rokita has taken state action, and by singling out certain groups, that action may be discriminatory, IU law professor Jennifer Drobac argues.

The letter singles out LGBTQ identities and a religion, Satanism, both of which are protected classes under federal law. Drobac said she believes the letter opens these attorneys general to constitutional legal challenges. Rokita may also open himself to complaints to the state Supreme Court's disciplinary commission, as Indiana's professional rules of conduct say attorneys cannot manifest "by words or conduct, bias or prejudice based upon race, gender, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, or similar factors."

Rokita's office did not respond to this assertion.

"What he’s doing is targeting particular segments of our population for public disdain," Drobac said. "And that’s dangerous."

Contact the reporter at kdwyer@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fact check: AG Todd Rokita letter calls out Target over LGBTQ+ support