Buttigieg says swatting call separated him from his twins at home

A false child-protective-services call separated Pete Buttigieg from his 4-year-old twins at home in Traverse City, Michigan, for about 24 hours, leaving him unable to be alone with them while police and child-welfare officials checked the claim. The former transportation secretary called it “one of the most awful moments of my life.”

In an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Buttigieg said a Michigan State Police officer and a Child Protective Services worker came to his home after an anonymous report alleged he posed a danger to his children. He said the children were interviewed separately and that he was told he could not be alone with them until the interviews were complete. Buttigieg said the accusation claimed he had confessed years earlier to violent crimes during a chance meeting in Alabama, a place he said he had never been.

Michigan State Police said the report was false. False reports pull officers and CPS workers away from legitimate emergencies. Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, arranged for the twins to stay with grandparents while the matter was sorted out.

Buttigieg said the episode was the ugliest thing that has happened to him since he entered public service and said he felt rage and sadness that someone brought his children into it. He also said he hopes the person responsible is found and prosecuted, adding, “As a family, we're just trying to put this behind us,” and, “We just can't go on like this.”

He said the call felt politically motivated and possibly rooted in homophobia, especially because he has faced anti-LGBTQ attacks and prior death threats. The false report came after Buttigieg had shared family photos around Father’s Day.