Here’s what had actually happened, authorities said: The man, identified as 39-year-old Michael L. Merichko, had caused a disturbance inside the store while protesting Target’s corporate stance on transgender customers and employees and bathrooms.

Merichko was charged with disorderly conduct in the incident. He was released on $75 bond on Monday, jail records indicated.

“Merichko’s actions provoked a breach of the peace causing panic among store employees and customers,” a Bradley Police Department news release states. “Investigators have determined that Merichko made no threats of shooting anyone in the store.”

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Although there were no gunshots, the Daily Journal reported that witnesses said “Merichko shouted out several warnings, including, ‘America is going to hell.'”

Lt. Michael Johnston of the Bradley Police Department told The Washington Post on Wednesday that Merichko hadn’t threatened anyone during his arrest but had yelled during the incident and “obviously scared a lot of people.”

“As to what his specific words were, I do not know,” Johnston said.

Authorities in Bradley, about an hour’s drive south of Chicago, were trying to figure out why the incident was reported as an active-shooter situation, Johnston said.

Target has been the focus of considerable attention since the company released a statement in April saying that it welcomed “transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity.”

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“Inclusivity is a core belief at Target,” the corporate statement said. “It’s something we celebrate. We stand for equality and equity, and strive to make our guests and team members feel accepted, respected and welcomed in our stores and workplaces every day.”

An online petition by the American Family Association calling for a boycott of Target over the company’s stance had more than 1.1 million signatures by Thursday morning.

Target’s statement came about a month after North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed a law in the state that banned local governments from extending nondiscrimination protections to gay and transgender people.

The legislation requires people in schools and government buildings to use the bathroom that matches the sex listed on their birth certificate. On Wednesday, the Justice Department warned that North Carolina’s measure violates federal civil rights law.

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In the wake of its passage, businesses and other organizations raised concerns that it was discriminatory. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called it “problematic for the league,” for example, and PayPal scrapped a planned expansion in the state.

Target is based in Minnesota, where Gov. Mark Dayton (D) has instructed state employees to “cease all nonessential state business travel to North Carolina until further notice.”

The debate isn’t just confined to North Carolina, though. Late last month, a community in Alabama adopted an ordinance that made it a criminal offense for transgender people to use public bathrooms that are a different gender from the one listed on their birth certificate. At the time, Steven Waits, the Oxford, Ala., city council president, said the action was a response to Target’s statement.

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This week, however, the city recalled the measure.