The Marshall County prosecutor declined to charge the woman who filed a false child welfare report about Pete Buttigieg, finding insufficient evidence of criminal intent. The June hotline tip, forwarded from Indiana to Michigan, led investigators to briefly separate Buttigieg from his two adopted children while they were interviewed. Prosecutors cited the reporter’s history of alcohol abuse and mental-health symptoms and concluded she lacked the capacity to form the intent required for prosecution. Michigan agencies are still reviewing how the report was handled and how information was shared between states.
Prosecutor Declines Charges After False Child Welfare Report Led to Buttigieg Family’s Brief Separation
In June, a woman filed a limited complaint against former Transportation Secretary Pete ButtigiegCredit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty
An Indiana prosecutor has declined to file criminal charges against the woman whose false child welfare report prompted authorities to investigate former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and temporarily separate him from his children.
E. Nelson Chipman Jr., the Marshall County, Ind., prosecutor, said investigators could not prove the woman had the criminal intent required for prosecution, according to reporting by The Washington Post. The complaint originated in June when an Indiana child-welfare hotline received a tip that mentioned Buttigieg; that limited report was forwarded to Michigan, where the Buttigieg family lives.
The complaint led Michigan investigators to arrange interviews with the couple’s children. Buttigieg described the experience in a Substack post, saying he and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, were not allowed to be present during their children’s interviews and were instructed that Pete should not be alone with the children until the next day’s interview.
"I could not be present at the children's interview, nor could any family member sit in. Afterwards, they would come back and interview me. And only then would they tell me anything about the nature of the allegation," Buttigieg wrote.
The children, Joseph August "Gus" and Penelope Rose, both 4, were interviewed the following day and later returned to their parents. Records reviewed during the prosecutor’s inquiry indicate that Indiana provided Michigan officials with very limited information about the caller, and that Michigan police did not attempt to identify the reporter until days after investigators had already questioned Buttigieg.
Chipman’s review examined whether the woman who made the report—identified in records only by the initials "TJ"—could be held legally responsible. In a July communication to Indiana State Police, the prosecutor cited the woman’s history of alcohol abuse, hallucinations and delusional thinking, and referenced prior encounters with law enforcement while she was visiting relatives in Indiana, including a domestic-battery arrest that reported a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.32.
Given that background, Chipman concluded the woman lacked the mental capacity to form the criminal intent necessary for a conviction. The records also indicate she made multiple allegations about Buttigieg but could not provide basic corroborating details when contacted by reporters.
Michigan officials are continuing an administrative review to determine how the complaint was received, how information was shared across state lines, and whether proper procedures were followed before investigators intervened in the family’s life.
What Remains Under Review: The cross-state handling of the hotline report, the timing of identification efforts, and agency communication protocols are all under scrutiny as officials consider whether policy or training changes are needed to prevent similar incidents.
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