Pete Buttigieg separated from children after false CPS report during Pride Month

The incident

This week, a police officer and a Child Protective Services worker arrived at Pete Buttigieg's Traverse City home to notify him of an anonymous report alleging his children were at risk. The Michigan State Police confirmed they received an anonymous report, investigated, and determined it was false.

“The Michigan State Police and Child Protective Services responded and determined the report was false. False reports are dangerous — they divert workers from responding to legitimate emergencies and protecting vulnerable children and families.”

The report forced the Buttigieg family to separate. The four-year-old twins each underwent hour-long forensic interviews where no family member could be present. During the investigation, the children stayed with their grandparents, away from both fathers.

The allegation

Buttigieg learned more about the complaint the next day. An anonymous caller claimed to have spoken to a woman who said she met Buttigieg at a conference in Alabama years ago and that he confessed to "unspeakable violent crimes." The caller believed the children were still at risk. Buttigieg told the officer he had never been to the town mentioned. The state police made clear the allegation would not be referred to a prosecutor.

“An anonymous caller had contacted C.P.S. The caller said 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, and the caller believed my children were still at risk.”

Pride Month and political targeting

The incident occurred during Pride Month and shortly after the Buttigiegs shared family photos for Father's Day on social media. Buttigieg, the first openly gay cabinet secretary and a potential 2028 presidential contender, has long weathered attacks over his sexual orientation. He described the weaponization of child protective services as the ugliest thing to happen to him in public life.

“It's not lost on me that this happened soon after we shared photos of our family on social media for Father's Day. Or that this occurred during a month meant to make families like ours feel welcome and safe.”

Personal toll

Buttigieg called the 24-hour separation "among the darkest hours of my life" and expressed a mix of rage and sadness. He worried about the unseen effects on his husband Chasten and their young children.

“I cannot describe the mix of rage and sadness that I feel at the idea that someone brought our children into this. They are four years old. Four. They do not know or care what a Democrat or a Republican is.”

Bipartisan reaction

The incident drew bipartisan support. Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden replied to Buttigieg on social media, sharing that his own family had experienced a similar false report. "I hope they find the folks that did this and send them to prison," he said.