The accuser has a history of alcohol abuse, hallucinations and delusional thinking, according to an Indiana prosecutor who determined she was not able to form criminal intent.
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An Indiana prosecutor has declined to file criminal charges against the woman who made a false child welfare complaint against former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, which led investigators to the door of one of the country’s most prominent Democrats, resulting in his brief separation from his children.
While acknowledging that the evidence shows that her false hotline tip resulted in an “intrusive investigation of an innocent individual and his family,” the prosecutor determined the woman was not “capable of forming the requisite intent to support a criminal conviction.”
The caller has a long history of alcohol abuse and mental illness, E. Nelson Chipman Jr., a prosecutor in Indiana’s Marshall County, where investigators determined the call had originated, wrote to state police in a July 29 email outlining his decision. Her history includes “hallucinations and delusional thinking which includes frequently responding to voices only she hears,” he added.
The decision not to bring charges was first reported by local news outlets in Indiana.
Two days before the prosecutor’s email, The Washington Post detailed — using previously unreported Michigan State Police records — how officials relied on a vague and unsubstantiated allegation from an accuser whom authorities later deemed possibly “mentally unstable” to separate Buttigieg from his 4-year-old twins until they could be interviewed the next day. Child welfare experts who reviewed the records at The Post’s request said they illuminated a flawed process that was made worse by poor judgment by agencies and a lack of communication among investigators from two states.
Indiana child welfare authorities who received a tip on a hotline with “very limited information” about Buttigieg did not pass along the caller’s name or contact information when notifying officials in Michigan, where Buttigieg resides. Michigan police waited six days after approaching Buttigieg in late June to attempt to identify the caller. By then, Buttigieg had gone public with the situation.
Buttigieg — who ran for president in 2020 and is widely seen as a 2028 presidential contender — described the ordeal in a Substack post as “the ugliest thing that has happened to me since my career in service began.” He wasn’t allowed to be alone with his children until forensic interviews could be completed, he said, so the twins stayed with their grandparents who live nearby.
When reached for comment about his decision, Chipman shared with The Post the email he sent to Indiana State Police detailing his reasoning.
“She responds to voices only she hears and grandiose ideation including self-identifying as God,” Chipman wrote, adding that she frequently says she has enjoyed an evening meal with the Obamas.
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The woman, who was not named in the email, is from Alabama but was visiting family in Indiana at the time of her call about Buttigieg. During her “relatively short stay” with relatives, she was involved in at least three separate police encounters, according to the prosecutor. The incidents included an arrest for domestic battery, during which her blood alcohol level was reportedly 0.32, four times the legal driving limit in most states.
A Buttigieg spokesman declined to comment on the development Tuesday but previously said in a statement: “This has been a painful and infuriating situation for the family. They are in touch with Michigan authorities, seeking answers and accountability for what happened.”
The Michigan attorney general’s office has opened an investigation of the allegation against Buttigieg and how it was handled. On Tuesday, office spokesperson Kimberly Bush confirmed the investigation is ongoing.
“Common sense would have shown that this targeted report plainly lacked credibility on its face,” Bush previously said. “Before children are separated from their families, due diligence should be exercised to ensure some nexus exists between the source and the family, or that the complaint comes from a reputable, reliable, or verifiable source.”
After receiving a partially redacted copy of the Michigan State Police report that referenced a Facebook post by the caller, The Post was able to identify and contact the woman. The prosecutor’s email refers to her only as “TJ.”
In a phone call with a reporter earlier this summer, she was unable to answer basic questions about her accusations. She acknowledged that she made reports about Buttigieg to authorities but declined to say to whom. She did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The Post is not naming the woman because it was unclear whether she was fully aware that she was speaking to a media outlet on the record.
She has since returned to Alabama, according to the prosecutor, where she was staying at a treatment facility only to be evicted for a rule violation soon afterward. She later moved into a halfway house.
“Obviously she may still have the ability to file additional complaints,” the prosecutor wrote. “No doubt a regrettable situation.”
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