Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated that he was the target of an anonymous report alleging he posed a danger to his children, which forced him to spend a night away from his four-year-old twins. The Michigan State Police investigated the report and determined it to be false, with an officer suggesting it was politically motivated, Buttigieg said in a social media post.
"This week someone targeted my family for harm with a false report," Buttigieg wrote on June 26, 2026. "We’re physically OK, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t harmed. I am beyond furious. Whatever your politics, this is awful, wrong, and can never become normal."
According to Buttigieg, authorities received an anonymous tip alleging he had confessed to violent crimes years earlier during a meeting in Alabama, a place he said he had never visited. The report prompted a Michigan State Police officer and a child protective services worker to visit his home. They conducted forensic interviews of his twins and instructed Buttigieg not to be alone with them until the interviews were completed.
Child Protective Services found no evidence to substantiate the report, and police indicated it would not be referred to prosecutors. Buttigieg described the 24-hour ordeal as "among the darkest hours of my life" and expressed rage and sadness that his children were brought into the situation.
Buttigieg, a prominent figure in the Democratic Party and a potential presidential candidate, has previously faced anti-LGBTQ attacks and criticism, including from some Republicans, for taking paternity leave after adopting his twins with his husband, Chasten. He also noted that he has received death threats during his career.
"But this is the ugliest thing that has happened to me since my career in service began," he wrote. "Everyone knows politics is ugly these days. It’s always been ugly, but now it feels more and more like bloodsport. Even so, this is different."
The incident occurred shortly after Buttigieg shared photos of his family online for Father's Day. Public officials have increasingly been targets of "swatting," a practice involving false emergency calls designed to prompt a law enforcement response, which can divert critical resources and endanger lives. Buttigieg characterized the report against him as an escalation in political attacks.