Buttigieg Family Separated From Twins After False CPS Report

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg revealed that a false report to Child Protective Services (CPS) resulted in his family being separated from their four-year-old twins overnight. The incident caused significant psychological distress to Buttigieg, his husband Chasten, and their children.

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I was bewildered and troubled, but tried to stay calm. I'm used to any number of falsehoods, attacks, and serious problems being thrown my way. What I didn't understand was what could have led to this kind of visit. Then, the CPS worker told me something that made my stomach turn: I was not to be alone around the children, at least until the interview took place the next day. They asked if I had relatives nearby or could perhaps stay at a hotel for the night.

According to Buttigieg's account on Substack, a CPS team visited his home after an allegation was made concerning the twins, whom the couple adopted in 2021. He was informed that he could not be alone with the children until an interview took place the following day. This led to the difficult decision for the twins to stay with their grandparents overnight.

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The 24 hours until they returned are among the darkest hours of my life. I tried to get my head around the idea that I had been accused of something so serious that I couldn't be alone around my own children, and had consented to have them interviewed by strangers, without my knowing where the accusation had come from or even what it contained.

Buttigieg described the 24 hours until the children's return as "among the darkest hours of my life." He expressed bewilderment at being accused of something so serious that he could not be with his own children. The allegation stemmed from an anonymous caller who claimed to have spoken to a woman alleging Buttigieg confessed to "unspeakable violent crimes" years prior.

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An anonymous caller had contacted CPS. 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. That was all.

Michigan State Police stated that both police and CPS determined the report to be false and condemned such actions. Buttigieg, who described the authorities as "courteous and professional," believes the incident was politically motivated, especially since he had never been to the location where the alleged meeting occurred. The officer indicated the case would not be referred to a prosecutor, as the children's interviews revealed no concerns.

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Then the officer made clear that he believed this was politically motivated, and said it would not be referred to a prosecutor. Nothing in the forensic interview with the children, which was conducted by trained personnel, had led to concerns.