Charles and Heather Maud, a South Dakota ranching family, have had a giant burden lifted from their shoulders this week. All federal charges brought against both of them during the Biden Administration, were dropped.
This is a very big deal. First, the back story. This entire mess was about a fence built in the early 1950’s. A fence that was not a problem for the U.S. Forest Service, until early last year. Then, suddenly it was a huge problem. Supposedly, according to Special Agent Travis Lunders and U.S. Forest Service Patrol Captain Jeff Summers, a hunter complained about a “No Trespassing” sign on the fence. So the Maudes, who’ve been ranching that land and leasing that particular parcel from the Forest Service for graving for FIVE generations now, took the sign down. And that’s when the trouble really started.
The fence, built sometime between 1910 and 1950, was accepted as the property boundary by the USDA annually through the certification of acres by the USDA Farm Service Agency every year since the National Grasslands came into existence in 1960.
The Maudes met on May 1 with Special Agent Lunders and USFS District Ranger Julie Wheeler. The conclusion reached that day was a land survey would be needed first and foremost and that would take time, up to a year according to Wheeler. The Maudes scheduled a meeting at the allotment so the district ranger could see the fence and move toward a resolution. Five days later, Lunders again arrived — and entered private property — with a survey crew to complete a survey the Maudes were not a party to. Neither a copy of the survey nor a copy of the original complaint allegedly issued by a hunter has been made available.
Lunders arrived unannounced at the Maudes’ home on June 24, 2024, armed and in tactical gear, to serve the couple with separate federal indictments. The indictments were for the alleged theft of government property stemming from the placement of a fence built at least 75 years ago. The Maudes each faced 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines over the 50 acres in question and were ordered not to speak to one another about the case.
Stop and think about this for a minute. Some anonymous person complained about a sign. Then the federal government led by two agents said there is a problem with fence location – even though that fence has stood there since the 1950’s. The SURVEY was supposed to take over a year to complete. Yet, barely six weeks into the survey process, the Maudes were treated as dangerous criminals and served with federal indictments.
You have a husband and wife, who’ve ranched the land and taken care of it for years now. But suddenly they are separately and together facing federal charges, years in jail, and thousands of dollars in fines.
Over. A. Fence.
One that no one knows if it is even in the right place, or not. Because whatever survey has or hasn’t been done, there seems to be ZERO paperwork on it.
A ranching family in South Dakota is at the center of a horrible example of federal overreach.
— Speaker Jon Hansen (@SpeakerHansen) April 15, 2025
Charles and Heather Maude are fighting for their liberty and way of life on their ranch after overzealous feds charged them with “theft of government property” & 10 years in prison.… pic.twitter.com/lGP0OX9pB6
Ranchers and farmers across South Dakota, Wyoming, and more came out in support of the Maudes in droves.
“I am deeply disgusted by the Forest Service’s persecution of family ranchers Charles and Heather Maude,” said Mark Eisele, a Wyoming rancher and past president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in a statement. “The Maude family has been ranching in South Dakota for five generations and Charles and Heather have spent their lives protecting natural resources, investing in their land, and raising their children. The U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Attorney’s Office have maliciously targeted and prosecuted these family ranchers, and it’s clear that if this can happen in South Dakota, government overreach can happen anywhere.”
This was malicious government overreach on multiple levels. Rather than calmly wait to see what the results of the land/fence survey would be, the Maudes were indicted.
The summons, served June 24, 2024, charged that the Maudes, “Beginning at a time unknown, but no later than December, 2020…did knowingly steal, purloin and convert to their own use National Grasslands managed by the United States Department of Agriculture, a department and agency of the United States, namely, approximately, 25 acres of National Grasslands for cultivation and approximately 25 acres of National Grasslands for grazing cattle, having a value in excess of $1,000 and did aid and abet each other, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 641 and 2.”
The summons, signed by Alison J. Ramsdell, United States Attorney, charges them separately, which means they must retain two attorneys and they could each be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and fined up to $250,000.
At no point did anyone involved from the federal side attempt to resolve this issue civilly. Instead, the Maudes were put under a gag order and told to find alternatives for raising their children.
Again, this was malicious government overreach. It is cases like this that President Trump campaigned on. Our government exists to serve WE THE PEOPLE. Our government does NOT exist to stomp on Americans without so much as a by your leave.
The Trump Administration knew this was wrong, and have worked to stop this malicious prosecution.
The National Forest Service wrongly targeted South Dakota ranchers Charles and Heather Maude. In my capacity as agriculture secretary, I refuse to allow it, writes @BrookeLRollinshttps://t.co/MxMv1hrTXq
— Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) April 30, 2025
Now, the Maudes are free from these indictments.
The Maudes have ranched that land, as Heather pointed out, since 1910. They’ve been the caretakers and have ensured that land is productive. What happened to them is just one of the many examples of our out-of-control government.
As RedState’s Ward Clark points out, George Washington’s quote calling the government both a dangerous servant and a fearful master is apt in this and an untold number of other cases around the country.
Covering the Noem/Rollins presser on halting the prosecution of the Maude family under the Biden admin (over 25 acres Biden's USDA was angry about).
— Tony Kinnett (@TheTonus) April 30, 2025
Defending American families from bureaucratic overreach is a consistent focus of Trump's admin—this is yet another example. pic.twitter.com/yCXBGY4KRV
The liberals do not understand that it is cases like this that led to President Trump’s re-election last fall. And the Trump Administration, after 100 days, has a LOT more work to do.
Feature Photo Credit: US Forest Service sign and fence in South Dakota via Wikimedia commons, cropped and modified
GWB says: Neither a copy of the survey nor a copy of the original complaint allegedly issued by a hunter has been made available.
And that right there should have halted all the proceedings. Period. You don’t get to take anyone to court while not presenting them with the evidence and the charge of what they’ve done wrong. All of the people involved in this need to be fired, then charged with a violation of civil rights under color of authority.
armed and in tactical gear, to serve the couple with separate federal indictments
And, again, things should have come to a grinding halt right there. Billy Bada** wanna play a Green Beret in Fallujah and wants so badly to shoot someone in the face.
were ordered not to speak to one another about the case
Nope. I would have talked to my wife about it IMMEDIATELY, in front of the man. Then, every single time I talked with any of the government agents, I would start with “Me and my wife were talking about this case, and…”.
I bet this guy kicks puppies, too.
One that no one knows if it is even in the right place, or not.
Wrong. The gov’t acknowledged it was in the right spot for something like 65 years. That should have been a heavy weight in this persecution. A weight they really couldn’t move without some evidence showing previous fraud or incompetency on the part of one of the parties. And “more precise surveying abilities” is NOT that.
Because whatever survey has or hasn’t been done, there seems to be ZERO paperwork on it.
That’s the NEW survey. If the old, original survey is missing, then something should have been said about it sometime in the last 65 years. Otherwise, adverse possession should go into effect.
and did aid and abet each other
You damn well better show they had intent to defraud/steal in court, or that “aiding and abetting” might get you your own time in prison, Mr Gov’t Lawyer. Also, conspiracy to defraud of civil rights is a federal felony. And that is most certainly what you did.
put under a gag order
That is almost ALWAYS an “overreach.” And, again, it’s conspiracy to deprive them of their civil rights.
In my capacity as agriculture secretary, I refuse to allow it
As a secretary you damn well better have the DOJ take some of these people into their custody and toss them in a fed max security prison. Because what they did was evil – and I’m pretty sure they knew it.
If these folks don’t see prison (at least that pr*** Lunders) then I will honestly have to rethink how much Trump’s team deserves my support.
Tim says: I’m thinking that the folks in the SD US Attorney’s office don’t have enough to do. Not to mention that they are incompetently supervised.
Cameron says: Vicious and permanent examples need to be made of these people.
3 Comments