Indiana Prosecutor Declines Charges Over False Buttigieg Tip Involving 4-Year-Old Twins
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 8
Indiana Prosecutor Declines Charges Over False Buttigieg Tip Involving 4-Year-Old Twins
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 8
Summary
Marshall County prosecutor E. Nelson Chipman Jr. decided not to charge the woman whose false child-welfare tip triggered an investigation of Pete Buttigieg and briefly separated him from his 4-year-old twins.
A July 29 email said evidence showed the tip caused an intrusive investigation, but the woman was not capable of forming criminal intent because of severe mental illness and alcohol abuse.
Chipman wrote that the Alabama woman, identified only as “TJ,” had hallucinations, delusional thinking and multiple police encounters while visiting Indiana, including a domestic-battery arrest with a reported 0.32 blood alcohol level.
The case has intensified scrutiny of how authorities handled the allegation: Indiana passed Michigan only limited information, Michigan police took six days to try identifying the caller, and the Michigan attorney general’s investigation remains open.