Charges dropped against S.D. ranchers accused of land theft

The federal government has dropped its criminal case against Charles and Heather Maude, a ranching couple from West River, South Dakota, who were indicted last summer over allegations they unlawfully appropriated 50 acres of federal land.

U.S. District Judge Camela Theeler signed an order on Monday dismissing the charges and removing the conditions of the couple’s release, which had included restrictions on their ability to communicate about the case.

The case revolved around a dispute with the U.S. Forest Service regarding fencing that allegedly blocked access to the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. Though the Maudes had agreed to a property line survey in good faith, federal agents ultimately charged the couple with theft of federal property — a move that was widely criticized by agricultural advocates and Trump Administration officials as excessive and politically motivated.

“Today, the Trump Administration announced bold action to put farmers and ranchers first by dropping criminal charges against Charles and Heather Maude, a South Dakota family who has a small cattle and hog operation,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. “This family has endured a senseless politically motivated prosecution waged by the Biden Administration over 50 acres of federal land. Government resources for prosecution should be focused on true criminals, not a family farm trying to make ends meet.”

Rollins continued, “The Maudes are not criminals. They have worked their land since the early 1900’s and something that should have been a minor civil land dispute that was over and done with quickly turned into an overzealous criminal prosecution on a hardworking family that was close to losing their home, children, and livelihood. Not in this America, not under President Trump.”

Attorney General Pamela Bondi also weighed in, saying, “The prior administration’s misguided agenda must be reversed in order to make America safe again. This Department of Justice will spend our resources and efforts on prosecuting criminals, getting drugs off the streets, and identifying and dismantling the weaponization.”

The Maudes are scheduled to visit Washington, D.C., on April 30 for a news conference where further actions being taken by the Trump Administration to limit what they characterize as “regulation by prosecution” will be discussed.

The Maude family has ranched along the Cheyenne River near the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands for generations. They were accused them of taking over 50 acres of federal land by enclosing it within fencing. After federal agents served them with summonses, the couple was indicted separately and faced up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.

The case drew attention from major agricultural organizations, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council, who applauded the dismissal and criticized the federal approach.

“No family farmer or rancher should have to go through what the Maude family did,” said NCBA President Buck Wehrbein. “The targeted prosecution of the Maude family was way out of line for the U.S. Forest Service, and this was a clear example of government overreach that had direct, catastrophic impacts for a hardworking fifth-generation ranching family.”

Tim Canterbury, President of the PLC and a Colorado rancher, added, “As permittees, we are required to work collaboratively with the government, but when federal agencies view ranchers as the enemy, it threatens the trust that every single rancher has in their federal partners.”

Kaitlynn Glover, Executive Director of PLC and NCBA Natural Resources, said, “This case was an unfortunate example of the imbalance of power between family ranchers and a formidable federal government. 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.”

Since the Maudes were charged last August, NCBA and PLC advocated publicly and privately for the case to be dropped, meeting with USDA and Forest Service leadership and later appealing to the Trump Administration following the election.