Buttigieg Spent Night Away from Twins After Authorities Acted on False Child-Protection Report

Former US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg spent a night away from his four-year-old twins after an anonymous report to Child Protective Services prompted Michigan State Police to restrict his access to the children. The report followed Buttigieg's social media posts of family photos for Father's Day.

An anonymous caller told authorities he had spoken to a woman who claimed to have met Buttigieg at a conference in Alabama several years earlier, where she said he confessed to committing unspeakable violent crimes, and that the children remained at risk.

Michigan State Police and Child Protective Services responded to the report and determined it was false. The agency arranged forensic interviews for the twins and notified Buttigieg he could not be alone with them until the interviews took place. An officer who responded to the home told Buttigieg the report appeared politically motivated and would not be referred to a prosecutor.

Buttigieg described the episode in a Substack post as among the darkest hours of his life. He wrote that he could not describe the mix of rage and sadness at the idea that someone brought the children into the matter, noting they are four years old and do not know or care what a Democrat or a Republican is.

He called the false allegation the Child Protective Services equivalent of swatting and said it was the first time someone had invaded their lives in this way and dragged the children into it.

Michigan State Police told the BBC the report was false and described such false reports as dangerous because they divert workers from legitimate emergencies. Buttigieg noted the incident occurred during Pride Month and said he and his husband Chasten have faced prior attacks related to their identity as a same-sex couple.