Pete Buttigieg separated from children after being target of false report: ‘Darkest hours of my life’
TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN: Pete Buttigieg opened up about enduring the "darkest hours of my life" when his four-year-old twin children were separated from him after an anonymous report falsely accused him of posing a threat to their children.
The 44-year-old Biden-era Transportation Secretary said the ordeal lasted for 24 hours and required their children to sit for interviews with Children’s Protective Services.
“I’ve been through political attacks in office, death threats in public life, and rocket attacks in war,” the military veteran wrote in a Substack post titled “A Terrible Thing Happened to My Family.”
“But this is the ugliest thing that has happened to me since my career in service began,” he continued.
Buttigieg targeted by ‘politically motivated’ false accusation
The former presidential candidate noted that the incident took place a few days ago when a team from Child Protective Services showed up to his house and said an allegation had been leveled against him concerning the twins, whom the couple adopted in 2021.
The twins were removed from Buttigieg’s house, which shares with his husband, Chasten, and were each subjected to separate forensic interviews the next morning.
The authorities instructed him not to be alone with them until the interviews were complete. During the investigation, Buttigieg said he was questioned by an officer who revealed that an anonymous tip had prompted the CPS inquiry.
The caller allegedly claimed "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," leading the caller to believe "my children were still at risk."
Buttigieg said he told the officer he had never been to the town in Alabama. “Then the officer made clear that he believed this was politically motivated, and said it would not be referred to a prosecutor,” Buttigieg wrote.
“Nothing in the forensic interview with the children, which was conducted by trained personnel, had led to concerns.”
He said the CPS worker involved in the case had also indicated that she had not found anything to substantiate the allegation, but that the process to complete the investigation formally would take a bit more time.
The statement from Michigan State Police called false reports “dangerous,” adding that they “divert law enforcement officers and Child Protective Services workers from responding to legitimate emergencies and protecting vulnerable children and families.”
While Buttigieg praised the CPS workers and law enforcement officers for handling the case with professionalism, calling their work "admirable," he argued that their efforts had ultimately been diverted by "a cruel, politically motivated hoax that harmed our family."
Buttigieg claims incident happened after his Father’s Day post
Widely regarded as a potential Democratic presidential contender in 2028, Buttigieg has frequently been the target of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric throughout his political career.
He revealed that the CPS investigation came just days after he shared Father's Day photos of his family online, adding another layer to what he believes was a politically motivated attack.
The former transportation secretary has previously faced criticism from some Republicans for taking paternity leave after he and his husband, Chasten, adopted their twins during the Biden administration. He also said he has received death threats over the years, but described the recent incident as unprecedented.
Buttigieg argued that the episode reflected a broader deterioration of America's political climate.
"Everyone knows politics is ugly these days," he wrote. "It's always been ugly, but now it feels more and more like bloodsport. Even so, this is different."
