WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dakota News Now) – Federal officials and state leaders hosted a press conference on Wednesday to celebrate the dismissal of charges against a South Dakota family.

The press conference took place on the USDA Whitten Building front steps in Washington, D.C. In attendance along with the Maude family was U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden, U.S. Senator Mike Rounds and U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson.

The federal land dispute with the Maude family, who live near Caputa, began in 2024 over a fence line that the USDA said was blocking access to a section of the Buffalo Gap Natural Grasslands.

The fence had been in place for more than 70 years, but after a survey, the ranching family was indicted for theft of federal property over 25 acres of land the government claimed they converted “to their own use.”

Charles and Heather Maude faced up to 10 years of prison time and a $250,000 fine until the Trump Administration dropped the charges on Monday.

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