General Discussion

Buttigieg was briefly separated from his children after police say he was target of false report


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.”

A Terrible Thing Happened to My Family


Someone decided to hurt our family this week. I’m furious, and I want to share what happened.

You’ve probably heard of “swatting.” It’s 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. It’s 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.) It’s become enough of a problem that the FBI now has a dedicated database to track such incidents.