Government Dispute with South Dakota Family Highlighted at Policy Event

Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins addressed the troubling situation faced by the Maud family in South Dakota during a recent policy event hosted by Breitbart News. She emphasized the administration’s efforts to rectify what she described as governmental overreach against this fifth-generation farming family.

Rollins expressed concern about how the government has, in her view, mishandled situations involving families like the Mauds. She reflected on their long-standing history as farmers and ranchers.

According to reports, during the Biden administration, the U.S. Forest Service informed the Maud family that their property was obstructing access to the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands. After agreeing to investigate the property line, the administration later shifted the outcome from a simple civil matter to what Rollins called “costly, invasive, unnecessary criminal prosecution.”

“Nobody believed there was an issue with the fence that dates back to Charles’ great-grandfather in 1910,” Rollins pointed out.

She continued, “Fast forward a century, and suddenly someone from the Forest Service shows up to question the location of that fence.”

Rollins described the distress caused by the potential of a criminal charge for the family, saying, “They need to figure out who could care for their young children in case they end up in prison.”

She criticized the situation, stating, “This should alarm everyone here today and those watching the livestream.”

Rollins posed the rhetorical question, “Is this how we handle property disputes in America?”

In contrast to the Democratic approach, she asserted that current policies unfairly prioritize foreign welfare over American citizens. “We see members of the party heading to El Salvador, and that’s who they’re fighting for,” she claimed.

She expressed gratitude to President Trump for helping to eliminate the criminal charges against the Maud family. “I stirred things up in town about this just last week,” Rollins added.

Moving forward, she mentioned establishing a hotline to report similar cases of governmental misuse, aiming to curb such occurrences.