Gov. Rhoden Sheds Light on His Work with Sec. Rollins to Save the Maude Family
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden shed light on his work with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to aid in the dismissal of unjust criminal charges against the Maude family. Secretary Rollins hosted a press conference to celebrate this news, along with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and members of Congress.
“This situation hits close to home for me – the Maude’s ranch is just 70 miles down the road from my own,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “The Maude family has been put through hell by an overreaching federal government. I am honored to have played a part alongside Sec. Rollins and the Trump Administration to restore sanity, fairness, and justice.”
The Maude family had faced a political prosecution at the hands of the Biden Administration over a small piece of federal land, facing up to 10 years of prison time and a $250,000 fine. Governor Rhoden began working with Secretary Rollins less than a month after taking office, advocating on behalf of the family to bring them justice. After numerous conversations with Secretary Rollins and the Trump Administration, the U.S. Government dropped the unjust criminal charges.
“President Trump is directing his cabinet to ensure no citizen of this country is unfairly targeted on politically motivated witch hunts. That is what happened to the Maudes, and I am working to ensure no farmer, rancher or customer who works with USDA will ever endure baseless political persecution,” said United States Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. “I am calling on any individuals who are currently enduring lawfare conducted by USDA to visit www.usda.gov/lawfare and submit a form. My team will promptly work to address the situation.”
Governor Rhoden and former Governor Noem previously attempted to liberate the Maude family by engaging with former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, but they were ignored by the Biden Administration.
“I’m so grateful to the Maude family for their strength. I’m so disgusted by the Biden administration that they would do this and persecute a family and threaten to take their children away from them just because they wanted to be political,” said United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. “South Dakota’s motto has always been ‘Under God, the people rule.’ The power was given in our Constitution to the people, and that we should always respect that and recognize that many of the wrongs that were done under the last administration can be fixed, and are being fixed every single day because of leaders like Secretary Rollins – and because President Trump is in the White House, and he’s bold, and he’s fearless, and he’s taking action.”
U.S. Senator Mike Rounds, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson, and U.S. Representative Harriet Hageman were also in attendance and aided in the process.
You can find a picture from the press conference here. Additional photos will be made available at a later time.
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I wish someone would flesh out the details on this case. Without a doubt, when the government brings the hammer down it is unbearable. So my curiosity remains on the details:
What kinds of demands did the landowner (the government) make on the lessee? Was the government within its lease rights to demand mitigation of the problems they were trying to solve administratively? The government claims that it tried for years to persuade – and then force – the Maudes to comply with their demands. So if the demands of the landowner were not met, what options did they have? More failure at “administrative remedies?”
I have owned and leased out a lot of properties in my career and can tell you this. The lease terms are clearly described in the contract. I am legally obligated to keep my end of the bargain and my lessees are legally obligated to keep their end of the bargain. I did have one case where I tried for quite a while (eight months) to bring a lessee into compliance by “administrative means.” When that method failed, I kicked him off the property. I had every right to do that – and I would go so far as to say I had an obligation to do that for the sake of my business. Does it make me a horrible guy to press my contractual rights? Well, the guy I kicked off my property thought I was. Someone close to this case – please let us know what the government was demanding and also let us know why the Maudes were out of compliance.