TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said his family was targeted by a false anonymous report to Child Protective Services that led to a roughly 24-hour separation from his and husband Chasten Buttigieg’s 4-year-old twins.
Michigan State Police and CPS responded to the tip, which alleged that Buttigieg posed a danger to the children. Authorities later determined the report was false and unsubstantiated.
In a Substack post published Friday, Buttigieg described the incident, which occurred earlier in the week at the family’s home in Traverse City, as “among the darkest hours of my life.” He likened it to swatting, the sending of false emergency reports to provoke a law enforcement response.
A Michigan State Police officer and a CPS worker arrived at the home and informed Buttigieg of the allegation. Procedure required that he and Chasten Buttigieg not be present during forensic interviews of the children scheduled for the following day, according to Buttigieg’s account. The couple sent the twins to their grandparents’ home.
Buttigieg said an officer later explained the tip’s content: an anonymous caller claimed to have spoken with a woman who alleged she met Buttigieg at a conference in Alabama years earlier, where he supposedly admitted to “unspeakable violent crimes,” and that the caller believed the children remained at risk. Buttigieg stated he had never been to the location referenced.
Michigan State Police confirmed the report was false. Spokesperson Shannon Banner and a department statement said law enforcement and CPS “responded and determined the report was false,” adding that false reports divert resources from legitimate cases involving vulnerable children.
Buttigieg said he was reunited with the children after about 24 hours and praised the officers and CPS workers as courteous and professional while carrying out required procedures. He called the report a “cruel, politically motivated hoax that harmed our family.”
The twins, whom the couple adopted in 2021, were not harmed, according to available information. No charges were referred to prosecutors.
Buttigieg, who served as transportation secretary in the Biden administration and has been mentioned as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, did not identify any specific suspect in the report.
Michigan State Police condemned the filing of false reports, which they said endanger public safety responses.
As of Monday, no further official developments were reported. CPS processes were completed with no substantiation of the claims.
