South Dakota ranchers Charles and Heather Maude are no longer bracing for their lives to be crushed by a terrifying federal government that attempted to imprison them for 10 years each, leaving their children essentially orphaned, over a simple land dispute. The Trump Administration announced this week it has dropped criminal charges of “theft of federal property” against the ranchers that were brought by the Biden Administration. It is a case that highlights the stark contrasts between how the Biden and Trump administrations treat citizens and solve problems.
It was clear Wednesday during a Washington, D.C., press conference that this family’s liberty and livelihood hinged on which party won the White House.
“We’re standing here with a fifth-generation rancher, with their two young children who are great Americans, who’ve never done anything wrong, that the Biden administration was actively working to put in prison,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said during that press conference. “While at the same time, many of those same elected officials on the other side are actively working to get out of prison gang members, illegal aliens, etc. We are not the same.”
“Stolen” Federal Land
Not far from Mount Rushmore in Pennington County, South Dakota, Charles and Heather Maude have a 400-acre cattle ranch that has been in their family for five generations. The family has managed the same land since 1910.
Image CreditCourtesy: Maude Ranch
The family has held a federal grazing permit through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for nearly 60 years and are permittees in good standing. The permit allows them to graze their cattle on the Buffalo Gap National Grassland and is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, which reviews the map every time the permit is renewed. There has never been a problem before.
In March 2024, the USDA notified the Maudes that a hunter complained about a fence blocking access to Buffalo Gap National Grassland, according to a letter Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., sent to then-Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, seeking help for the family.
On May 1, 2024, the Maudes met with the Forest Service and everyone in the meeting agreed to do a land survey to figure out exactly where the fence belonged.
On May 6, 2024, a U.S. Forest Service special agent escorted a survey crew onto the Maudes’ property.
Then, with no warning, on June 24, 2024 the Maudes received a visit from Forest Service special agents with indictments for each of them. Charles and Heather Maude were charged separately — they had to get separate attorneys. The charge was “Theft of national grasslands managed by the United States Department of Agriculture, namely, approximately 25 acres of National Grasslands for cultivation and approximately 25 acres of National Grasslands for grazing cattle,” the indictment said. All for a fence that was placed before either of them was born.
“When this unnecessary grievance came to our family, we knew that we were innocent of any wrongdoing,” Heather Maude said with emotion. “We sought to find a resolution, and that was not forthcoming from the other side.”
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC) have been working in support of the Maudes, seeking a resolution since the dispute started.
“This case was an unfortunate example of the imbalance of power between family ranchers and a formidable federal government,” said Kaitlynn Glover, executive director of PLC and NCBA Natural Resources in a statement. “Put simply, the Maude family was expected to bear the burden of an inefficient and unfair Forest Service process, and their story had a chilling effect on ranchers’ trust in federal land management agencies they interact with daily.”
Plan For Prison
The Maudes tried to work out a solution, but the Biden Administration immediately dragged them into court on a charges that come with 10 years of prison and a $250,000 fine, one for each of them — totaling a half million dollars for the family. The spouses were instructed not to speak to each other about the case.
Image CreditCourtesy: Maude Ranch
“This family, targeted solely over what should have been a minor civil dispute over grazing rights on 25 acres … was prosecuted, and credibly threatened with jail sentences so extreme that they were told to find alternatives to raise their young children,” Rollins said. “As we have learned here in Washington, certainly under Trump one, and again, under Trump two, is that there are a lot of rogue bureaucrats, and the administrative state is ruling way too much of America right now, that is what President Trump has asked us to fix.”
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, who was the governor of South Dakota at the time, said there are existing laws the Forest Service could have used to resolve the issue.
“The Biden administration, they did not have to take this action. They chose to take the persecution of this family to the extent that they did,” Noem said. “This was a purposeful attack on their family, their freedom, and their livelihood.”
Report Land Lawfare
Noem said that while governor, she asked Vilsack to intervene in the Maude case.
“I asked him to look into it, to stop the persecution, to give them the freedom to operate their land like so many had before them for many generations,” Noem said. “That letter was completely ignored. I followed up with several phone calls. I spoke directly to Secretary Vilsack about it, and he completely ignored our pleas for justice.”
She said it was common during the Biden Administration for citizens to call government offices and get no answer, but now the federal government wants to hear from them.
To prevent or resolve government overreach, Rollins and Noem announced a new USDA website for “Farmers, ranchers, and USDA customers who have fallen victim to unfair and politically motivated lawfare originating under the Biden Administration,” the website reads. Noem said they want to hear the public’s stories and take action.
“If you reach out to leaders in Washington, D.C., now, you will get answers. People will pick the phone and they will respond.”
Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.
