A local prosecutor in Indiana declined to bring criminal charges against a woman who made a false child welfare report that targeted former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, citing the accuser’s “long history of mental illness.”
Marshall County Prosecuting Attorney E. Nelson Chipman Jr. told Indiana State Police he was “unable to conclude [the caller] is capable of forming the requisite intent to support a criminal conviction for this offense,” according to the email, which Chipman provided to MS NOW on Wednesday.
Chipman emailed Indiana State Police with the explanation of his decision on July 29, but the news was first reported this week by local outlets in the state.
The email from Chipman to state police provides new details about the caller, whose accusation led Buttigieg, a prominent Democrat and a potential 2028 presidential contender, to be separated from the 4-year-old twins he shares with his husband, Chasten, overnight in June. State police in Michigan, where Buttigieg lives, previously confirmed to MS NOW that authorities and CPS workers subsequently determined the report was false.
Chipman identified the accuser as “TJ,” and described her as a 50-year-old woman from Alabama who was staying with her family in Marshall County at the time she made the report. The prosecutor said TJ has “a documented history of alcohol abuse” and has received treatment in the past for both alcoholism “and other chemical dependency.”
“Further, TJ has a long history of mental illness, manifested by hallucinations and delusional thinking which includes frequently responding to voices only she hears and grandiose ideation including self-identifying as God,” Chipman continued.
“She frequently reports she has enjoyed an evening meal with” the Obamas, he said.
While staying in Indiana, TJ had three encounters with police, including one that culminated in her arrest for domestic battery, according to Chipman’s email, which did not indicate the consequence of the arrest. During that incident, her blood alcohol concentration was four times the legal limit.
TJ currently lives in a halfway house in Alabama, where her access to a phone has been “somewhat” restricted, but she retains access to computers, according to Chipman.
“Obviously she may still have the ability to file additional complaints,” he wrote. “No doubt a regrettable situation.”
In Indiana, making a false report to law enforcement carries a minimum penalty of up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Enhanced penalties could lengthen both potential jail time and fines, based on the harm caused and the number of officers involved in responding.
Indiana State Police referred questions from MS NOW to Chipman’s office and declined to answer additional questions. Chipman did not immediately respond to further questions from MS NOW.
Through a spokesperson, Buttigieg declined to comment on the decision not to prosecute.
The Washington Post spoke to the woman earlier this summer and reported that she could not answer basic questions about her own allegations, such as which agency she reported them to. The newspaper did not name the woman, stating that it was unclear if she understood she was having an on-the-record conversation with a reporter. (MS NOW has not independently identified the accuser.)
Citing previously unreported police records from Michigan State Police, the Post reported in July that the Indiana child welfare authorities who received the tip on a hotline did not pass along the caller’s name or contact information to officials in Michigan. State police also waited six days after approaching Buttigieg before attempting to identify the caller, the Post reported. Child welfare experts who spoke to the Post criticized state police for separating the children from Buttigieg and his husband based on such a vague allegation.
Kimberly Bush, spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, confirmed to MS NOW that the office opened an investigation in July. Bush described the purpose of the probe as being “not only to look into the potential unlawful conduct but also to mitigate the risk that this act could trigger copy-cat acts against other well-known residents and elected officials as the newest form of threat or intimidation.”
She added that the office has requested state police turn over all evidence in the case, adding that the Attorney General’s Office “will zealously investigate all leads, policies and procedures that allowed for such a flagrant violation of the Buttigiegs’ privacy.” Bush did not say when the office expects to conclude its investigation.
The Michigan State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MS NOW on Wednesday.
Writing about the incident in a June Substack post, Buttigieg wrote that a police officer told him a caller 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.”
He called the overnight separation from his children, who stayed with their grandparents, “among the darkest hours of my life.” The children were also interviewed by investigators as part of the probe, he wrote. Buttigieg described the incident as a “politically motivated hoax” and “the ugliest thing” he had experienced in politics to date.
He also suggested homophobia may have motivated the incident, noting that it occurred during Pride month and shortly after he had posted a photo of his family on Instagram to celebrate Father’s Day.
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