Pete Buttigieg was briefly separated from his 4-year-old twins after an anonymous caller made false allegations to Child Protective Services in what appears to have been a malicious swatting attempt.
Writing on his Substack, the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation recounted how a CPS worker and a police officer showed up at his home in Traverse City, Michigan, after an anonymous caller falsely claimed that Buttigieg had told a woman at an Alabama conference that he “had committed unspeakable violent crimes.” Buttigieg said he had never been to the Alabama town where the alleged conversation occurred.
Buttigieg said the CPS worker told him a forensic interview had been arranged for the children the following day and that neither he nor any family member could be present. Under the agency’s procedures, Buttigieg would be separated from the twins for at least 24 hours while the matter was investigated. The twins spent the night at their grandparents’ house — a period Buttigieg described as “among the darkest hours of my life.”
Buttigieg said nothing in the forensic interviews indicated there was any reason to believe that either he or his husband, Chasten, posed a danger to their children.
Michigan State Police told The Associated Press in a statement that they received an “anonymous report” regarding the allegations and that officers and CPS “responded and determined the report was false.”
While praising the police officer, the CPS worker, and the forensic interviewers for doing their jobs, Buttigieg condemned the swatting attempt as a “politically motivated hoax” that, he argued, should be treated like filing a false crime report. He also said he fears the ordeal may have long-term effects on his family.
“I don’t know who did this, or exactly what prompted them to try. It’s not lost on me that this happened soon after we shared photos of our family on social media for Father’s Day. Or that this occurred during a month meant to make families like ours feel welcome and safe,” Buttigieg wrote.
“We’re used to nasty, hateful, and sometimes violent things being said about us and even about our family. But this is the first time someone managed to invade our lives like this — and drag our children into it.”
Buttigieg said someone had previously attempted to have his home swatted while he was serving in President Biden’s cabinet, but law enforcement detected the hoax before officers were dispatched.
Swatting — in which someone makes a false emergency report to prompt an armed police response to an alleged imminent threat — has become so common that the FBI maintains a dedicated database to track such incidents.
According to an April report from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, 2025 saw a “serious escalation in the risk environment” for political violence. Earlier this year, U.S. Capitol Police reported that the number of threats investigated by the agency increased by nearly 60% last year.
“Everyone knows politics is ugly these days,” Buttigieg wrote on his Substack. “It’s always been ugly, but now it feels more and more like bloodsport. Cruelty, lies, and even deadly violence have been directed at political figures across the ideological spectrum. Generally everyone agrees this has to stop, even as our country (and public figures) get all too used to it.”
Drake Von, an adult content creator best known for his gay and bisexual-themed videos, was arrested on June 2 in Las Vegas for allegedly attempting to strangle a domestic partner.
Von, whose real name is Dawson Bacon, was charged with domestic battery by strangulation and coercion constituting domestic violence through the threat or use of physical force, according to court records obtained by TMZ. He also faces a misdemeanor domestic battery charge.
Von was held in a Las Vegas jail following his arrest but was reportedly released after posting a $25,246 bond.
Two men have been charged with vandalizing a rainbow-colored bench in Miami Beach with graffiti featuring a swastika and references to Adolf Hitler.
Surveillance video from Ocean Drive on May 18 captured two men sitting on the rainbow bench before one of them appeared to scribble graffiti onto the bench's yellow section.
Upon closer inspection, the graffiti included a swastika and the phrase "Adolf was here" written in marker.
Before sitting down, surveillance cameras captured four men approaching the rainbow bench and gathering around it. One of the men appeared to pull an object from his fanny pack and hand it to another man.
LGBTQ New York Police Department officers affiliated with the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) will boycott Manhattan's Pride March on Sunday, June 28, after organizers declined to exempt them from a policy barring marchers from carrying weapons, including police service firearms. GOAL argues that officers' firearms are an integral part of their uniform.
The boycott marks the fifth consecutive year that GOAL has clashed with Heritage of Pride, the organization behind the march, over the participation of uniformed police officers.
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