FILE – Pete Buttigieg, US transportation secretary, speaks during a news conference at Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. (Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
FOX 2 – Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was the target of a false report to police, sending officers to his Traverse City home this week.
The backstory:
Police determined the anonymous call was false, although he said he was forced to spend a night away from his 4-year-old twins. Buttigieg described the 24-hour ordeal in a Substack post as “among the darkest hours of my life.”
Michigan State Police said in a statement to The Associated Press they received an “anonymous report” and that they and child protective services “responded and determined the report was false.
He said a Michigan State Police officer and a Child Protective Services worker came to his home in Traverse City after they received an anonymous report alleging he posed a danger to his children. Authorities arranged forensic interviews for his twins and instructed him not to be alone with them until the interviews were complete.
Buttigieg compared the incident to swatting in his description when someone calls 911 with a false report of imminent danger at a public figure’s home. It leads to law enforcement swarming the house with guns sometimes resulting in the injury or deaths of the homeowner, law enforcement or family dogs.
“It’s happened to dozens of lawmakers, judges, celebrities, and others. (When I was in the Cabinet, someone attempted to do this to our home, but fortunately the hoax was quickly detected.) It’s become enough of a problem that the FBI now has a dedicated database to track such incidents,” Buttigieg said. “Now imagine the same concept, but with Child Protective Services instead of a SWAT team. Hadn’t thought of that? Me neither, until a few days ago when a police officer and a CPS worker showed up at our home and politely asked to speak with me.”
Buttigieg said investigators told him the anonymous caller claimed he had confessed years earlier to violent crimes during a chance meeting in Alabama, claiming his children were still at risk. Buttigieg said he had never been to the town where the meeting allegedly occurred.
He said police told him the allegation would not be referred to prosecutors and that they believed it to be politically motivated, while Child Protective Services found nothing to substantiate the report.
“We’re used to nasty, hateful, and sometimes violent things being said about us and even about our family. But this is the first time someone managed to invade our lives like this – and drag our children into it,” he said.
Michigan State Police Seventh District released a statement regarding the incident:
“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. False reports are dangerous and divert law enforcement officers and Child Protective Services workers from responding to legitimate emergencies and protecting vulnerable children and families.”
Buttigieg, who is widely viewed as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, has long been the target of anti-LGBTQ attacks.
In recent years, conservative activists and some Republican officials have opposed efforts to portray same-sex parents as ordinary families in schools and public life.
Buttigieg wrote that the incident occurred soon after he shared photos of his family online for Father’s Day.
“I cannot describe the mix of rage and sadness that I feel at the idea that someone brought our children into this,” writes
Buttigieg. “They are four years old. Four. They do not know or care what a Democrat or a Republican is.”
Public officials from across the political spectrum have increasingly been targeted by swatting, which is the act of making a false call to emergency services to prompt a response at a particular address. The goal is to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to show up. Law enforcement agencies have warned that the incidents divert resources from other pressing tasks and pose risks to both law enforcement and the victims.
Buttigieg said the incident reflected a broader escalation in political attacks.
“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.”
The Source: Information for this report is from both the Associated Press, Michigan State Police and Pete Buttigieg’s Substack where he first broke the news.