Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is defending himself after what Michigan State Police later determined was a false Child Protective Services report led authorities to his home to interview his children. The high-profile Democrat expressed his concern in a blog post he published on Friday.
What did Pete Buttigieg say about the CPS false report?
Buttigieg, who is expected to run for president in 2028, said a CPS worker and a police officer recently showed up at his home in Traverse City, Michigan, and told him about an anonymous report claiming that his children were at risk. The agents, according to Buttigieg, asked to interview his 4-year-old twins without their parents present. Buttigieg added that he had to send his children to their grandparents because he was not allowed to be alone with them until the interview was complete.
“The twenty-four hours until they returned are among the darkest hours of my life,” Buttigieg wrote.
Michigan State Police later told NPR they received an anonymous report this week about the family but have since “determined the report was false.”
Buttigieg said the investigation into his family was part of an effort to smear his political career.
“Many times over the years, I have been denounced, yelled at, protested, threatened, and heckled. I’ve been through political attacks in office, death threats in public life, and rocket attacks in war,” Buttigieg wrote. “But this is the ugliest thing that has happened to me since my career in service began.”
Buttigieg, who is openly gay, also said he is being targeted during Pride Month.
“It’s not lost on me that this happened soon after we shared photos of our family on social media for Father’s Day,” he said. “Or that this occurred during a month meant to make families like ours feel welcome and safe.”
Buttigieg first gained national attention when he ran for president in 2020. At the time, he became the first openly gay candidate to win a presidential primary contest for a major political party. Buttigieg now lives with his husband and their 4-year-old twins in Traverse City, Michigan.