Trump Admin Drops Criminal Charges Against South Dakota Family Farmers 👉 Updatem News

The Department of Agriculture had charged the ranchers with theft last year over a fence line dispute with the government.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under President Donald Trump has dropped charges against a small family farm in South Dakota.

Charles and Heather Maude, a couple who run a cattle and pig ranch on 400 acres near Mount Rushmore, became embroiled in a land dispute under former President Joe Biden’s administration. The USDA at the time alleged that the Maudes were grazing their cattle on a small plot of land belonging to the federal government.

“The Maudes were alerted by the United States Forest Service that fencing on their property blocked access to the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands and in good faith agreed to a survey of the property lines,” the USDA said in an April 28 statement.

“After the survey was completed, the Maudes’ lives were turned upside down by the Biden Administration where a simple civil dispute over 25 acres of federal land turned into a costly, invasive, and unnecessary criminal prosecution.”

The Maudes were unaware that the dispute had escalated until an armed federal agent made a surprise visit one day, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) told reporters at a Washington press conference on April 30.

The couple was indicted on charges of land theft by a grand jury on June 20 last year. They each faced up to 10 years in prison and fines as high as $250,000.

Local leaders and ranching groups sprang to their aid, to no avail. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem—who was governor of South Dakota at that time—said she reached out to then-USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, but was repeatedly ignored.

She said the prosecution of the Maudes was unnecessary because the farm family had occupied the land for generations and the law already contained a provision for the government to turn it over to them.

“As we have learned here in Washington … there are a lot of rogue bureaucrats, and the administrative state is ruling way too much of America right now, and that is what President Trump has tasked us to fix, and that is what we will fix,” USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) also hinted at the press conference that there might be consequences for the federal agents who spearheaded the prosecution of the Maudes.

“Now I look forward to rooting out every single bad actor in these federal agencies who use their position to go after private citizens,” he said.

“We need to follow up on this case, hold any and all bad actors to account, and make sure that it never happens again.”

Rounds has introduced legislation that would create a mediation process for similar land disputes.

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

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