Pete Buttigieg, the former U.S. transportation secretary and onetime presidential candidate, said this week that his family was the target of a false abuse report — a hoax he likened to "swatting" — that drew Michigan child-welfare workers and state police to his home and left him separated from his four-year-old twins for about 24 hours.
What Buttigieg says happened
According to Buttigieg, an anonymous caller told Michigan Child Protective Services and state police a fabricated story: that an unnamed woman had met him years earlier and that he had confessed to violent crimes, leaving his children in danger. Investigators followed the standard protocol for a credible-sounding allegation, dispatching a caseworker and law enforcement to the family's Michigan home.
His twins, whom he is raising with his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, were taken to their grandparents' home while authorities conducted a forensic interview. "I was bewildered and troubled, but tried to stay calm," Buttigieg said, according to CBS News. "The 24 hours until they returned are among the darkest hours of my life."
Investigators found the report false
Both the Michigan State Police and Child Protective Services concluded that the allegation was baseless. The forensic interview of the children turned up no concerns, and authorities determined the matter would not be referred to a prosecutor, CBS News reported. No suspect has been publicly identified; the caller remains anonymous.
Buttigieg cast the episode as a variation on swatting — the tactic of placing a false emergency call to send police rushing to a target's home — except that this version weaponized the child-protection system rather than a SWAT team. He said he was exploring whether legal action could be taken against whoever placed the call, per ABC News.
A question of motive
Buttigieg suggested the attack may have been motivated by anti-LGBTQ animus, pointing to its timing during Pride Month and shortly after he posted family photos around Father's Day, CBS News noted. He and his husband are among the most visible same-sex parents in American public life, and he has long drawn criticism from social conservatives. No evidence has been made public tying the call to any individual or organization, and that characterization reflects Buttigieg's own account.
Part of a broader pattern
The incident adds to a documented rise in harassment by false report. Swatting has been used against politicians, public officials, online streamers and private citizens, and in some cases has ended in injury or death when armed officers arrived expecting a violent emergency. Using child-protective services as the vehicle is less common, but watchdogs have warned that systems obligated to investigate every credible claim can be exploited.
Michigan State Police, in a statement that did not address the specifics of the case, underscored the wider harm of such hoaxes, saying false reports divert officers and caseworkers away from genuine emergencies. The matter, authorities indicated, remains under review.
