Breaking the silence: First interview with Maude family since indictment over alleged theft of federal property

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 2, 2025 – The morning following the announcement that criminal charges for theft of federal property were dismissed, Charles and Heather Maude said they're ready to return home to South Dakota. Kennedy Maude, the couple's daughter, was hoping to meet President Trump and given the opportunity, Heather said Kennedy planned to ask him, "what took so long?"

In a press conference on the steps of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., on April 30, 2025, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that criminal charges the Maudes were dismissed.

Rollins announced that the government dropped the criminal indictment against Charles and Heather Maude, who had been charged separately for stealing around 50 acres of U.S. Forest Service property. The Maudes were indicted separately and saddled with a gag order, preventing them from speaking even to one another about the case. They each faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Despite much-needed rain that will keep Charles off the tractor upon their return, Heather said on the acres in question, there is still no timeline as to when they will be able to continue farming as the Maude family has done for generations.

Heather spoke during the press conference on behalf of her family and said production agriculture is their passion.

"We are both fifth generation farmers and ranchers. Our families have a combined 250 years in production agriculture. We paused briefly in that pursuit in our grandfathers' generation. Both of my grandfathers fought in World War II. Charles' great grandfather is a four-star war mom. Her four sons fought in WW II and all four sons came home. Since then we have pursued our primary passion, which is production agriculture. When this hit, it hit in the heart and soul of our place. The Maude family came to this area in 1907 and purchased adjoining land in 1910 and have managed it without incident and with great care since then."

She concluded by thanking "everyone else who wrote, who contributed financially and who prayed for us. May God bless you and God bless America and God bless American agriculture." She said she planned to wrap that a bit differently, though she was overcome by emotion when she mentioned her gratitude for her parents, Tom and Randi Hamilton.

"Our forefathers, my grandfather and Charles' grandfather and his brothers included, did not go to war for this family to protect our God-given rights and freedoms and a government that would support us in keeping those rights and freedoms just for future generations to be persecuted by that government," she said. "We see this as a true win, and we thank the Trump administration for their efforts to be by and for the citizen again. What an exciting time to see us round that corner after so many decades of it being the opposite."

She said they hope this sets a precedent moving forward that other producers can build upon and that demonstrates the government doing right by the people.

Rep. Harriett Hageman, R-Wyo., met with the family again Thursday morning and took Kennedy and Lyle on the floor with her to cast a vote on a bill.

SIGNIFICANCE OF DISMISSAL

Though there are still loose ends to wrap up, Heather said some light was shed on the significance of the dismissal of charges.

"We learned that only 5 percent of criminal cases end in a dismissal," she said. "While this situation is not over, this cause for celebration yesterday is that we accomplished something that is unprecedented on this end. We experienced something that is unprecedented, and the outcome is also unprecedented and so we are so incredibly honored to be able to come (to D.C.) and that Secretary Rollins did her first press conference on this on the steps of the USDA building, and that we've made it here."

She said it is a bit surreal to hear everything that could have happened. She said she certainly knew serving time in prison was a real possibility, but to hear it now is bizarre. She said the accomplishment and the precedent set is a win for the entire agriculture industry.

WORK TO BE DONE

Charles said work on the farm and ranch had to periodically pause over the past 14 months, but the work still had to be done despite calls with lawyers and meetings.

"Last spring was a mess, it happened in the middle of everything, but thank God we were done AIing heifers and had most everything to pasture," Charles said. "It seemed like the indictment stuff came during haying season. When you tell your young hired man he may have to keep this together because there's a good chance they're going to lock us up… a guy who is 30 years old, it makes his head spin what he just got handed in the matter of just a few minutes."

Charles said dealing with the indictment was a constant work and worry. After the election, he said they could see there was perhaps a path forward for them to a resolution.

Heather said it felt as if their world had imploded.

"It's really difficult to explain what it feels like when you're facing something like this and — it was 35 below zero when we calved most of our heifers this year — and there you are out there doing the job you have to do, you're up all night and your life is imploding and you are fighting this all day and people call with these questions that you didn't even know existed prior to this."

She said the questions and the answers didn't exist, because an agency had never done anything like this to fence-line neighbors before. "We would often be involved in trying to formulate the answer to the questions, and then you would have to stop and go teach third-grade math," she said. "We homeschool our children, you have to go help move machinery… we had to pay for this. We had to take time away from our operation to fight this and we still had to operate our farm and ranch because that is our livelihood."

All this, Charles said, without the ability to utilize the most productive piece of ground on the operation. He said last year's exceptional harvest saw them through.

THE REAL STORY

Charles clarified that there are Maude acres on the U.S. Forest Service side of the fence, and Forest Service acres on the Maude side of the fence, both approximately the same acreage. He said the first record of that fence dates back to 1950. Charles, who bought the property when he was 17 upon the death of his grandfather, was born in 1985.

"So many people had to turn a blind eye or seek a vicious outcome for this to occur, and we hope someday to have the answers about who that was and who played what role," Heather said. "Why did we ever get to this point, in America of all places, where you can get this far into persecuting people? And again, we are not the only ones."

She said much light has been shed on the situation this week, but they still look forward to helping people find the answers to those questions.

"We are both fifth generation farmers and ranchers, and we are American citizens, and we believe in God," she said. "It has become apparent through all of this, He has prepared us to walk through this, but this is a testament to the fact that when you are right and you have done nothing wrong, and when people or entities seek to persecute you, you can stand up and, with the good Lord's help, you can hold that at bay."

Charles said it's also a testament to the need to support people and causes deemed worthy and the necessity of becoming involved at any level.

"You have more power than you think you have," he said.

Heather said this is a testament to what the American people can accomplish.

"Our family is our priority, and they sought to destroy that, and that was unacceptable," she said. "And here we are, and now we get to go back to ensuring that our family is our priority and may nobody ever attempt to destroy that ever again for us or anyone else."

After the initial complaint and survey, Heather said the family walked out on the land the Maude family has been farming for 114 years, and she watched Charles look at the survey stakes driven through a growing crop he had planted himself.

"This will not be over until Charles is in a tractor in that field doing what his family has done there, caring for this land for 114 years," she said. "And now we're at the point where we can seek resolution as to how we make that happen." 

Source: Rachel Gabel