An Illinois man was arrested Monday
protesting Target's transgender bathroom policy.
According to NBC Chicago, police
arrested and charged Michael Merichko with disorderly conduct at a
Target store in Bourbonnais, roughly an hour southwest of Chicago.
A Christian conservative group last
week launched a boycott of the retail giant after Target reiterated
that transgender people were free to use the bathroom and changing
room of their choice in their stores.
“I don't want some wicked pervert in
the same bathroom as my wife or my daughter,” Merichko said in a
video posted online before Monday's incident.
Multiple police agencies responded to a
911 call about an active shooter inside the store. Police later said
that the suspect was not carrying a gun but his actions caused “panic
among store employees and customers.”
NBC
Chicago described Merichko's actions as prompting a “massive
police response.”
Opponents of Target's policy say it
puts women and girls at risk.