Buttigieg says police removed his children after false report

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said an anonymous caller triggered a police and child-protective-services visit that resulted in his 4-year-old twins being removed from the family home for 24 hours. The caller told authorities that a woman claimed to have met Buttigieg at a conference in Alabama years earlier and that he had told her he had committed violent crimes.

Officers questioned Buttigieg at the Traverse City residence and later concluded the report was fabricated.

Details of the incident Michigan State Police confirmed in a statement that the report was false and warned that such calls divert resources from real emergencies. Buttigieg described the separation from his children as “among the darkest hours of my life” in a Substack post.

He wrote that he had to consent to having the children interviewed by strangers without knowing the source or content of the accusation.

““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.””