Pete Buttigieg's family targeted by false child‑protective‑services report

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg disclosed that an anonymous tip to Michigan Child Protective Services alleged he endangered his four‑year‑old twins. Michigan State Police and CPS responded to his Traverse City home, removed the children for separate forensic interviews and barred Buttigieg from being alone with them for 24 hours. Both agencies later concluded the allegation was false and politically motivated. Buttigieg described the experience as “among the darkest hours of my life” and likened it to a swatting attack, but with child‑welfare officials instead of police. He said the officer told him the caller claimed Buttigieg had confessed to violent crimes during a meeting in Alabama—a claim he denied and that police said would not be referred to a prosecutor. The incident occurred shortly after the family posted Father’s Day photos and during Pride Month, prompting bipartisan condemnation of the hoax and calls for accountability for false child‑welfare reports.