Federal criminal charges against a South Dakota ranching family were dropped after accusations of stealing government property related to a 25-acre fence line dispute, with officials denouncing the previous administration’s actions as an abuse of power against law-abiding citizens. Agriculture Secretary Rollins announced a review of similar cases and a new process for mediating disputes between landowners and government agencies.
By RANGE magazine contributing writer Rebecca Colnar Mott
Justice prevailed when criminal charges against the Maude family of Caputa, S.D., were dropped on April 30, 2025. Last year, Heather and Charles Maude were accused of stealing government property regarding a fenceline dispute of 25 acres on their fifth-generation ranch. The Maudes were threatened with 10 years of jail time each and a $250,000 fine.
On April 28, Ben Patterson, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Federal District Court in the Western Division of South Dakota, signed a motion to dismiss the indictment against Charles Maude and Heather Maude. During a press conference April 30 at USDA headquarters in Washington, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins was joined by the Maudes and their two children. Rollins began by recognizing that 250 years ago, American farmers and other citizens began a fight for freedom that continues to this day, noting that they fought against being subjects to the king.
“The Minutemen who were farmers and townsmen did not bear arms for causes irrelevant to us today,” Rollins said, noting that they were opposing an arbitrary government and its wholesale willingness to destroy lives and the livelihoods of those who opposed it. “Our forefathers won the revolution to rid themselves of that. To oppose that [an arbitrary, tyrannical government] is the most American thing imaginable. The right to rule without recourse was precisely the prerogative set by the Biden Administration.”
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, South Dakota Sen. Dusty Johnson, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden and Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman all spoke on behalf of the Maude family and the egregious action of the Biden Administration in this case.
Rollins said that the government is unaccountable to the people and doesn’t have a chance to ruin them. “This right to rule without recourse is precisely what they did under the Biden Administration. Because of disputed grazing rights on 25 acres, the Maudes were threatened with jail sentences and told to find alternative care for their children.”
The Maudes live on a farm in South Dakota, where they raise 250 cattle and 40 sows and have diversified crops. Twenty-five acres touch the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, and when they were told by the Forest Service they were blocking access on those 25 acres that were government property, the Maudes believed a common-sense process—a survey—was underway to establish a boundary. That was before an agent in tactical gear showed up at their door and charged them with theft of government property.
Rollins added: “The Maude family appealed to heaven, and Providence answered. The criminal prosecution is over, thanks to President Donald J. Trump’s directive to Put America First. They will not be driven from their home, fined or jailed. We will ensure all Biden-area prosecutions against law-abiding Americans are immediately addressed. We are investigating how and why this wrong prosecution occurred. I am calling on any individuals currently enduring lawfare conducted by USDA to visit www.usda.gov/lawfare and submit a form. My team will promptly work to address the situation.”
Heather Maude said her and Charles’ families have 250 years invested in agriculture, a calling that was only briefly paused when their grandfathers fought in World War II. She said that this prosecution by the Biden Administration “hit the heart and soul of our place that has been managed since 1907 without issue and with great care. When this grievance came to our family, we knew we were innocent and sought resolution.”
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said seeing justice done for the family was rewarding, especially with the threat of their livelihood and freedoms being taken away. “Today, that is rectified,” Noem said. “When I took this up with Secretary Rollins, she listened and acted.”
Noem explained that when she was South Dakota governor, her letter to Secretary Vilsack went unanswered, and she questioned why the former administration was unwilling to investigate this injustice faced by a small ranching family.
Noem added: “We recognize that food policy is a national security policy. We must always feed ourselves and not have one country from which we import all of our food. We can be free because of farmers and ranchers.”
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, who ranches 70 miles from the Maudes, said helping the young ranching family wasn’t about picking a fight or chasing headlines but trying to resolve it quietly. President Biden and Secretary Vilsack ignored their pleas. “A month after President Trump got elected, I visited with the Trump administration officials in D.C. and talked about the Maude situation and Biden’s unjust prosecution. What could be done? Today, we have a President and a Secretary of Agriculture who recognize the proper role of government.”
Southern Dakota Representative Dusty Johnson, who serves on the House Agriculture Committee, is introducing a bill to establish common-sense mediation when disputes with landowners and government agencies occur.
“In South Dakota, if we see a fence is in the wrong spot, you discuss it, visit with neighbors, do a survey and decide. This should not be an act of Congress. However, now is the time to fix this so future generations will know there is a process that protects their rights, and you won’t be considered a criminal for a fencing dispute.”
Representative Hageman, known as a defender of constitutional rights, said the case against the Maudes was a “glaring example of the dangers of unelected bureaucrats with far too much power weaponizing the full force of the federal government in an unconstitutional effort to make felons out of farmers. The agent who showed up on the Maude’s doorstop had complete disregard for the decades-long agreement between the Maudes and the Forest Service.”
She told the Maudes: “You are an example of what real American is about. You cared for your livestock, tended your fields, and raised your children even though it looked bleak. I hold you in the highest regard.”
Noem reiterated that she was grateful and overwhelmed that the Maudes were now free, but she was heartbroken by what they went through, never knowing when the next rogue government employee would show up.
The DHS secretary noted: “The Biden Administration ignored the American people. I hope the Maudes will be proud that even though they were prosecuted, it’s a game changer to help others. I hope this family will be stronger, and we will ensure this never again happens to another farming or ranching family.”
