Pete Buttigieg briefly separated from children after false police report
Pete Buttigieg, the former US transportation secretary, has revealed he was forced to spend a night away from his children because of an anonymous allegation against him, which police say they later determined to be false.
Michigan State Police found no evidence to substantiate the claim and believed it was politically motivated, the Democrat said.
After receiving an anonymous report that he posed a danger to his children, the police arranged forensic interviews for his four-year-old twins and notified him that he could not be alone with the children until interviews were conducted, he said.
Michigan State Police told the BBC the anonymous allegation against Buttigieg was false.
Buttigieg, who mounted an unsuccessful presidential bid in 2020 and is widely touted as a 2028 White House contender, wrote in a post on Substack that it was "among the darkest hours of my life".
In the post, he said the latest incident occurred shortly after he shared photos of his family on social media for Father's Day.
"I cannot describe the mix of rage and sadness that I feel at the idea that someone brought our children into this," he added.
"They are four years old. Four. They do not know or care what a Democrat or a Republican is."
Buttigieg said he worried about the "unseen effects" of the ordeal on him, his husband, Chasten, and their children.
He described the false allegation as the Child Protective Services (CPS) equivalent of Swatting, in which hoax callers dispatch armed police to homes.
Buttigieg said he was told an anonymous caller had contacted CPS.
"The caller said that he had spoken to a woman who claimed to have met me at a conference several years ago in Alabama, where she said I told her that I had committed unspeakable violent crimes, and the caller believed my children were still at risk," he said.
He said the officer who responded to his home "made clear that he believed this was politically motivated" and that it would not be referred to a prosecutor.
"Their time and resources were wasted in a cruel, politically motivated hoax that harmed our family," Buttigieg wrote.
Michigan State Police told the BBC: "This week, the Michigan State Police received an anonymous report.
"The Michigan State Police and Child Protective Services responded and determined the report was false."
Their statement described such false reports as "dangerous" and that they divert "workers from responding to legitimate emergencies and protecting vulnerable children and families".
Buttigieg has been the target of LGTBQ attacks in the past, and noted that it was not lost on him that the latest incident took place during Pride Month.
"We're used to nasty, hateful, and sometimes violent things being said about us and even about our family," he wrote. "But this is the first time someone managed to invade our lives like this - and drag our children into it."
Buttigieg and his husband became first-time parents in 2021 when they adopted fraternal twins Joseph August and Penelope Rose.
Read the full story at BBC ↗
Pete Buttigieg, former US transportation secretary, was temporarily separated from his children after an anonymous allegation was made to Michigan Child Protective Services. Police conducted forensic interviews with his four-year-old twins as protocol required. Michigan State Police subsequently determined the allegation was false. The anonymous caller claimed to have heard secondhand that Buttigieg had made violent confessions to someone at an Alabama conference years earlier. The responding officer indicated he believed the report was politically motivated and did not refer it for prosecution. Michigan State Police confirmed to the BBC that the report was baseless. Buttigieg posted about the incident on Substack, noting it occurred after he shared family photos for Father's Day and during Pride Month.
Read the full story at BBC ↗
Pete Buttigieg, the former US transportation secretary, has revealed he was forced to spend a night away from his children because of an anonymous allegation against him, which police say they later determined to be false.
Michigan State Police found no evidence to substantiate the claim and believed it was politically motivated, the Democrat said.
After receiving an anonymous report that he posed a danger to his children, the police arranged forensic interviews for his four-year-old twins and notified him that he could not be alone with the children until interviews were conducted, he said.
Michigan State Police told the BBC the anonymous allegation against Buttigieg was false.
Buttigieg, who mounted an unsuccessful presidential bid in 2020 and is widely touted as a 2028 White House contender, wrote in a post on Substack that it was "among the darkest hours of my life".
In the post, he said the latest incident occurred shortly after he shared photos of his family on social media for Father's Day.
"I cannot describe the mix of rage and sadness that I feel at the idea that someone brought our children into this," he added.
"They are four years old. Four. They do not know or care what a Democrat or a Republican is."
Buttigieg said he worried about the "unseen effects" of the ordeal on him, his husband, Chasten, and their children.
He described the false allegation as the Child Protective Services (CPS) equivalent of Swatting, in which hoax callers dispatch armed police to homes.
Buttigieg said he was told an anonymous caller had contacted CPS.
"The caller said that he had spoken to a woman who claimed to have met me at a conference several years ago in Alabama, where she said I told her that I had committed unspeakable violent crimes, and the caller believed my children were still at risk," he said.
He said the officer who responded to his home "made clear that he believed this was politically motivated" and that it would not be referred to a prosecutor.
"Their time and resources were wasted in a cruel, politically motivated hoax that harmed our family," Buttigieg wrote.
Michigan State Police told the BBC: "This week, the Michigan State Police received an anonymous report.
"The Michigan State Police and Child Protective Services responded and determined the report was false."
Their statement described such false reports as "dangerous" and that they divert "workers from responding to legitimate emergencies and protecting vulnerable children and families".
Buttigieg has been the target of LGTBQ attacks in the past, and noted that it was not lost on him that the latest incident took place during Pride Month.
"We're used to nasty, hateful, and sometimes violent things being said about us and even about our family," he wrote. "But this is the first time someone managed to invade our lives like this - and drag our children into it."
Buttigieg and his husband became first-time parents in 2021 when they adopted fraternal twins Joseph August and Penelope Rose.
Read the full story at BBC ↗
Pete Buttigieg was separated from his four-year-old twins for one night following an anonymous allegation to Child Protective Services Michigan State Police determined the allegation was false The anonymous caller reported secondhand claims that Buttigieg had made violent confessions at an Alabama conference Michigan State Police and the responding officer indicated they believed the report was politically motivated Buttigieg described the incident as 'the darkest hours of my life' Buttigieg characterized the false report as the CPS equivalent of 'swatting' The incident was a cruel hoax that wasted police resources Buttigieg noted the timing during Pride Month was not lost on him
Read the full story at BBC ↗
- Pete Buttigieg was separated from his four-year-old twins overnight after an anonymous false allegation was reported to Michigan Child Protective Services
- Michigan State Police determined the report was false and believed it was politically motivated
- Buttigieg described the incident as a CPS equivalent of 'swatting' and said it occurred shortly after he posted Father's Day photos of his family