The administration of President Donald Trump has killed a Joe Biden plan that involved persecuting a multi-generation South Dakota ranching family with huge legal fees and even threats of jail.

“No family farmer or rancher should have to go through what the Maude family did,” explained Buck Wehrbein, a Nebraska cattleman and president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “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.”

It was under Biden’s administration that a dispute arose over a fenceline on land the family had ranched for more than a century.

Family members actively were involved in discussions to do an assessment of the problem, if there was one, and reach a resolution.

But then the U.S. Forest Service dispatched armed federal agents to serve each Maude family member with a federal summons for theft, even though the management of the boundary line and parcel in question hadn’t been changed since the early 1900s.

The result was that Charles and Heather Maude each was facing claims of “theft of federal property” and threatened with 10 years in jail and fines up to $250,000, according to a NewsDakota report.

“Charles and Heather Maude are public lands ranchers who for decades held a federal grazing permit and were permittees in good standing,” said Public Lands Council President and Colorado rancher Tim Canterbury, who also holds a federal grazing permit.

“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. The public outcry we saw on behalf of the Maudes goes to show that public lands ranchers everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief that the USDA under Secretary Rollins is no longer trying to slap handcuffs on hardworking farmers and ranchers.”

It was Trump’s U.S. secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, who now has confirmed that the charges are dropped and the case over.

Thanks to the work across President Trump’s Cabinet, we have taken bold action to put farmers first by dropping criminal charges against the Maude Family of South Dakota.

The political prosecution regime of the Biden Administration is no more. We are ending government regulation…

— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) April 28, 2025

That announcement said, “We have taken bold action to put farmers first by dropping criminal charges against the Maude Family of South Dakota. The political prosecution regime of the Biden administration is no more. We are ending government regulation through prosecution.”

“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,” said Kaitlynn Glover, executive director of the PLC.

“Both the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council are pleased that our months-long campaign to find a good solution for Charles, Heather, and their kids has finally become a reality.”

A report from HPJ said the family runs a small cattle and hog operation, and the dispute involved a few acres of federal land.

The Maudes were alerted by the United States Forest Service that fencing on their property blocked access to the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, the report said, and “in good faith agreed to a survey of the property lines. After the survey was completed, the Maudes lives were turned upside down by the Biden administration where a simple civil dispute turned into what Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rolllins said was an unnecessary criminal prosecution.”

U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the Department of Justice needs to spend its resources and efforts on prosecuting criminals and getting drugs off the streets, the report explained.

Sid Miller, the agriculture commissioner in Texas, said, “The U.S. Department of Justice’s choice to dismiss the criminal charges against Charles and Heather Maude is a long-awaited action that highlights the damage caused by the Biden administration’s harmful federal overreach. This marks a significant triumph for land rights, the diligent families that sustain this nation, and basic common sense. The Maudes, as fifth-generation ranchers, have responsibly managed their land for many years under the supervision of the very agency that sought to portray them as criminals.

“This was never a criminal matter; it was a land use disagreement that should have been resolved through dialogue and respect, rather than threats of prison and financial ruin. What occurred in South Dakota serves as a chilling reminder of how easily bureaucratic power can spiral out of control and jeopardize the livelihoods of honest agricultural producers.

“I am thankful that under the Trump administration, the rights of rural Americans are finally being honored, and sensibility has returned to our national government,” he said.