General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDid anyone just hear what Katy Tur reported about Pete Buttigieg???
Apparently, someone made a false report to the police and child protective services that he and his husband were mistreating their twins. A cop and social worker actually turned up at their house and the whole thing was investigated including interviews with the 4-year-olds by themselves. In the end, it was deemed a politically motivated attack. It was an anonymous report so the person doing the calling can't be identified apparently. I've never heard of anything so outrageous.
Lovie777
(24,518 posts)Scubamatt
(334 posts)that we accept this basic truism. If you support this administration, you are actively evil, or you are complicit in that active evil by remaining silent.
Karasu
(2,324 posts)Anyone still thinking "moderate" or "mainstream" Republicans (which aren't the same thing) still exist in politically significant numbers and are going to ride to our side and save us all is an utter fool.
eShirl
(20,543 posts)Vinca
(54,547 posts)EdmondDantes_
(2,281 posts)Swatting is calling in a false report of a family being held by kidnappers or the like so SWAT rolls in and breaks down a door possibly going in with guns blazing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatting
Attilatheblond
(9,490 posts)Daughter got PDF from sent from Pete's group explaining why he had to cancel tomorrow's (Sunday, June 27) rally in Tucson for House candidate JoAnna Mendoza. Long message, full of details.
orleans
(37,459 posts)Nanjeanne
(6,842 posts)popsdenver
(2,814 posts)Who was the guy Serengeti? who was in charge of starting nasty rumors? Maybe called Skunk Works/????????
The Republicans have used it continuously ever since, esp during presidential campaigns.
Also they use the Classic.......OCTOBER SURPRISE
ColoringFool
(1,385 posts)popsdenver
(2,814 posts)known for throwing out nasty lies about Dems? Skunk Works/???????
LiberalArkie
(19,974 posts)related to Area 51.
mokeyz
(119 posts)one of my favorite moments in the film.
popsdenver
(2,814 posts)thank you, one with a great memory......
AdamGG
(1,907 posts)that if Watergate happened now, it would be a 12 hour news story.
That's because they raise the bar every day.
Solly Mack
(97,441 posts)Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was the target of an anonymous report that police determined was false and that he says forced him to spend a night away from his four-year-old twins.
Buttigieg wrote in a Substack post that a Michigan State Police officer told him they found nothing to substantiate the anonymous allegation and believed it was politically motivated. He described the 24-hour ordeal as among the darkest hours of my life.
Someone decided to hurt our family this week. Im furious, and I want to share what happened.
Youve probably heard of swatting. Its a cruel and dangerous kind of hoax that has started happening more frequently in recent years. Someone anonymously calls 911 with a false report of imminent danger, such as a hostage situation, at the home of a public figure. Law enforcement swarms the house, guns drawn, terrifying the unsuspecting homeowner and family and sometimes even leading to deaths or injuries in the confusion. Its happened to dozens of lawmakers, judges, celebrities, and others. (When I was in the Cabinet, someone attempted to do this to our home, but fortunately the hoax was quickly detected.) Its become enough of a problem that the FBI now has a dedicated database to track such incidents.
MyOwnPeace
(17,676 posts)that Kash and his storm troopers are working on finding true justice.
After all, tRump only hires the best!
Solly Mack
(97,441 posts)sinkingfeeling
(58,240 posts)milestogo
(23,340 posts)popsdenver
(2,814 posts)that their children will all be gay and lesbians also........LOL
3catwoman3
(30,193 posts)...may very likely end up being investigated for the same kind of untoward actions they accused Pete of.
calimary
(91,449 posts)Sounds like a bedroom busybody to me. Maybe with a side of enforced church.
sheshe2
(99,046 posts)This wasn't simply a SWAT; it was politically motivated by someone higher up.
hlthe2b
(115,200 posts)I'm sorry they went through that. Horrible...
Response to Vinca (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
TheProle
(4,216 posts)Enjoy your stay.
Response to TheProle (Reply #13)
Name removed Message auto-removed
hookaleft
(1,400 posts)enjoy your stay
Wiz Imp
(10,822 posts)Wiz Imp
(10,822 posts)Absolutely disgusting.
hookaleft
(1,400 posts)hookaleft
(1,400 posts)Jesus christ they probably know everything about them
orthoclad
(5,153 posts)popsdenver
(2,814 posts)Was one of my first thoughts.......If it had been a Republican they would have had the informant in cuffs within 24hours.
EdmondDantes_
(2,281 posts)And because unlike calling 911 a call to CPS isn't traced, it's a lot more likely to be hard to identify the caller. That said, not impossible in theory because maybe the person paid for the phone via credit card or will talk about it or some other security lapse.
Pisces
(6,373 posts)Cosmocat
(15,521 posts)False reports of child abuse are far from uncommon, most often due to intra family or custody squabling.
Im surprised its taken this long for the hate cult (presumably) to hit Pete with it, just out of general shittiness, but a year or two from now if he is running for higher office, its something they can point at to discredit him in their make their insane reality the reality of the mindless "independents."
PatSeg
(54,047 posts)It is the sort of lowlife thing these people are capable of.
TommyT139
(2,509 posts)Rethugs as a whole lack imagination; those at the top of the steaming heap only have imaginations tuned to the evil side.
It looks like Pete is going to pursue the case. If it's not a federal crime it should be. If it's not a capital offense, it will be, once sanity returns to clean things up.
Meanwhile, states are already using this tactic against families of trans kids. That doesn't receive enough attention in the news and from the Democratic party.
From April 24, 2026:
Texas child abuse investigations over gender-affirming care no longer blocked
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/24/texas-transgender-cps-child-abuse-lawsuit-supreme-court/
Maru Kitteh
(32,101 posts)PatSeg
(54,047 posts)Life was so hard for so long and I lived in fear of someone taking my children from me.
Ilsa
(64,756 posts)It's disgusting, and the kids are lucky the grandparents are nearby. False reports hurt the children. I hope they are caught.
MustLoveBeagles
(18,332 posts)You're right. It is outrageous.
ChicagoTeamster
(1,475 posts)They've filed false reports and made threats against Adam Kinzinger and many others that Trump doesn't like as well.
TommieMommy
(3,223 posts)Prairie Gates
(8,671 posts)The so-called Christins in our country are savage assholes.
Karasu
(2,324 posts)It's all the same shit. Blatant homophobic intimidation.
City Lights
(26,175 posts)This absolutely makes my blood boil!!
LilElf70
(1,714 posts)a serious incident like this, WITHOUT ID, is insane. There should be a national (not state) law on this, that all accusations such as this, must have an ID for it to be legitimate. Otherwise, nothing will be done.
This is dangerous, insane and childish, and steps must be taken to stop it.
It's amazing that no one used common sense on this one. But then, we're in Trumpland now.
Ninga
(9,045 posts)followed up on? Fishy, smelly, rotten.
Vinca
(54,547 posts)mtngirl47
(1,274 posts)Someone reported me saying that I made my children work and that they lived in a camper.
In actuality my children were often with me at my office. I owned my business and they would come after school, do their homework and chores around the office for pocket change and we were living in our motorhome while our house was being built.
It was a month long investigation. Interviewing the children without me and my husband. Measuring the living space. Interviewing teachers, coaches, friends.
At the end of it all I asked who did this to me. Naturally they said it was anonymous, but the investigator left their notebook open on the counter while they used the restroom. Turns out I can read upside down. It was a disgruntled tenant. You can bet that eviction was swift and merciless.
It has always shocked me that children slip through the cracks of family & children services after the investigation I went through. They showed up at least 6 times in one month without an appointment just to see if I had dishes in the sink.
spooky3
(38,996 posts)Away from me. Ridiculous!
Zelda_Orchid
(119 posts)MIButterfly
(3,479 posts)That is absolutely despicable. What a horrifying (and totally unnecessary) ordeal for him, his husband and especially his poor innocent children.
Who would do such a thing? Some people are just assholes and sad to say, they walk among us.
This saddens and outrages me at the same time. I could just cry.
BeneteauBum
(957 posts)Guilty until proven innocent. Child services should investigate the source of the complaint before confronting the family. I would be beyond outraged
..
Peace ☮️
pinkstarburst
(2,108 posts)needs to be arrested.
This is not a good faith anonymous report. This is harassment.
WiVoter
(1,703 posts)And arrest and convict those responsible?
Blue Owl
(60,094 posts)spooky3
(38,996 posts)Its one thing to not reveal the callers ID to a possible perpetrator. But wouldnt the agency have a protocol for ensuring that reports have some credibility before investing resources in investigating? Wouldnt they ask for the callers name and contact info, so at the very least they could go back and ask questions?
rampartd
(5,507 posts)"swatting" will be next.
spanone
(142,254 posts)John Barron (or Baron)
Purpose: This was Trumps go-to alias for corporate and real estate matters. He used it when he was under intense press scrutiny or needed a tough frontman to defend his business decisions.
Famous Use: Trump used Barron in the early 1980s to deal with the press regarding the demolition of the Bonwit Teller building (to make way for Trump Tower).
Confirmation: Trump later testified under oath in a 1990 court case that he occasionally used the name John Baron.
paleotn
(23,084 posts)One has to be sociopathic trash to even be a Republican these days.
danieljsf
(21 posts)Gay parents are often targeted by bigots and reported to child protection agencies with no evidence to back it up. Usually the accusation is child sexual abuse, playing to the old bigoted trope that all gays are pedophiles. The real shame to me is that fact that someone can make such an accusation anonymously, so that they can't be held to account when it all proves to be a lie.
yellow dahlia
(6,906 posts)Buttigieg conducted himself with grace...of course. He wrote about it on Substack.
malaise
(299,616 posts)Effin monsters.
dave99
(583 posts)CONSTANTLY spouting off on HATE of the other, whoever the other happens to be for their audience.
For DECADES Republicans have done this and do so today.
Wish that REPUBLICANS become extinct in a few years, their HATE destroys all ability to move forward and make the Dream that was once in the Founders minds if not their hearts.
BUT too many find it easy to follow instead of think.
Jacson6
(2,322 posts)Forty years ago I got into an argument with my neighbor. They called CPS then they investigated our family. The only thing you can do is cooperate. You don't want your child to end up in a foster home.
LetMyPeopleVote
(183,990 posts)The former transportation secretary described it as the ugliest thing that has happened to me since my career in service began.
Buttigieg Says his Family was Target of âPolitically Motivated Hoaxâ www.ms.now/news/buttigi... #horrific
— ljconrad (@ljconrad.bsky.social) 2026-06-26T20:15:20.728Z
https://www.ms.now/news/buttigieg-says-his-family-was-target-of-politically-motivated-hoax
In a Substack post Friday, Buttigieg wrote that an anonymous caller reported to CPS that his 4-year-old twins he shares with his husband, Chasten, were at risk.
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, Buttigieg wrote.
Buttigieg, a prominent Democrat and potential 2028 presidential contender, likened the incident to swatting when someone calls 911 to falsely report an immediate threat, often at a public figures home but with Child Protective Services instead of a SWAT team.
As a result of the allegation, Buttigieg said a CPS worker told him he could not be around his children unsupervised for 24 hours while the allegation was investigated. He and his husband dropped the children off with their grandparents for the night, beginning what Buttigieg described as among the darkest hours of my life......
The police officer on the case made clear that he believed this was politically motivated, and said it would not be referred to a prosecutor, Buttigieg wrote. Nothing in the forensic interview with the children, which was conducted by trained personnel, had led to concerns.
Blue Owl
(60,094 posts)Theres got to be some way to back-trace that call. Did the receiver do a simple star-69?
Akakoji
(629 posts)Remember Stonewall. Id be rioting in the streets if I could, and thats exactly what the GOP wants as an excuse to kill and otherwise deter opposition. All that happens is that we get hit with a deluge of money requests from politicians eager to milk the outrage but do absolutely nothing about it.
C Moon
(13,829 posts)Fuck you trump
dawn5651
(828 posts)what a absolutely disgusting thing to do to a dad who loves his kids ..someone is evil as hell.
GiqueCee
(5,070 posts)... of the über-religious, Trump-humping zealots that wallow in the cesspool of Christian Nationalism. There is nothing "Christian" about that bunch; they defile everything the Nazz ever preached.
mdbl
(8,982 posts)or whatever law this would break.
kentuck
(116,056 posts)If he had any plans of running?
LymphocyteLover
(10,430 posts)It really scares me how so many of US just don't get it!
— Texas Paul (@realtexaspaul.com) 2026-06-23T22:35:25.226Z
riversedge
(82,228 posts)maliaSmith
(222 posts)This is totally awful. The neighbors of my brother are a married gay couple of two men. They are great guys. They also have twin little boys that are not quite 2 years old. They are great dads and the kids are thriving. I can't think how awful it would be for someone with hate in their hearts to report falsely on them and their parenting and whoever make a false report on Pete and his husband needs to burn in hell.