The facts of the Heather and Charles Maude case are as simple as they are enraging.
The Maudes are generational ranchers. Their land, bordering federal land, has been in the family since the 1910s. In March of 2024 the Maudes posted a “no hunting” sign on a fence that had been there for about 75 years. Supposedly a hunter—who has never been identified—complained about the sign, the forest Service told the Maudes to remove it, which they promptly did.
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Graphic: Maude Hog & Cattle, via Cowboy State Daily
On May 1, 2024 the Maudes met with the Forest Service District Ranger for the Buffalo Gap National Grassland/Fall River Ranger District, Julie Wheeler, and they decided on a land survey to settle a boundary issue. Wheeler told the Maudes it would take as long as a year to get the survey done, but five days later, Forest Service Special Agent Travis Lunders showed up with a survey crew, and without permission, trespassed to do a survey.
As you might suspect, Lunders is looking like the bad guy in this case, because on June 24, 2024 he showed up at the Maude’s home, resplendent in tactical gear, and served each with a grand jury indictment for theft of government property, a 10 year, $250,000 felony.
Most Americans would be surprised to discover the Forest Service has “special agents,” but not surprised they have SWAT-like tactical gear. Federal agencies like the Department of Education have been buying tacticool goodies, huge quantities of ammo and automatic weapons for years. That there is no apparent need for this gear doesn’t matter. They have taxpayer cash, so why not? Even Amtrak(?!) and Health and Human Services have SWAT teams, and as early as 2015, there were at least 271 throughout the federal government.
So, Special Ranger Agent Lunders decided to go after the Maudes over a 75-year-old fence line, and the US Attorney involved obviously thought this a significant case. Perhaps the Maudes are white supremacists? Insurrectionists? Domestic cattle and hog terrorists? The Maudes were fully cooperating with the Forest Service while waiting for a survey to be done—like most westerners, they thought they had a deal and could trust the Forest Service–and Lunders saw an opportunity to play SWAT dress up and strike down the felonious Maudes who we yet to be born when the fence was put up. Sounds very much like standard operating procedure for the Harris/Biden regime, doesn’t it? Retired rangers aren’t impressed:
“I don’t understand why the district ranger or one of her staff didn’t just go out to their house and say, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ instead of taking it to court right away,” said Karl Brauneis of Lander. [skip]
Retired Forest Service and Park Service ranger Richard Jones, who lives in rural Park County [WY], agreed that the temperament of federal agencies has changed.
A Forest Service agent showing up armed and in tactical gear “doesn’t surprise me,” he said.
“It surprises me that they didn’t show up with an armored vehicle and a dozen people,” Jones added. [skip]
“The old Forest Service was a de-centralized, conservation learning organization,” he [Brauneis] said. “The new Forest Service is a highly-centralized, environmental, political bureaucracy.”
Fortunately, Wyoming’s sole Representative, Harriet Hageman, an attorney with a history of successfully fighting government overreach in the West, isn’t impressed either:
Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman is among Republicans in Congress calling out federal officials for an armed, intimidating response to a South Dakota ranch family’s home over a 75-year-old property line dispute.
A scathing letter obtained by Cowboy State Daily early Wednesday was sent to Alison Ramsdell, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota, from Hageman and other congressional representatives. It calls for Ramsdell to provide a briefing about the case of Charles and Heather Maude of Caputa, South Dakota. [skip]
Hageman and the others who signed the letter call the response blatant abuse of government power and unnecessary intimidation of U.S. citizens.
Good for her.
This is a tale of two views of government power. Land issues are common in the West where government controls vast swaths of states. As Brauneis notes, in the past the Forest Service worked with ranchers and farmers. They knew ranchers and farmers are America’s best land stewards. If there was an issue, they drove out to the ranch, sat down over coffee, talked things out and sealed the deal with a handshake. Ranchers and farmers went on with their lives and missions—feeding the world—and the American public’s interests were protected.
But under Joe Biden’s handlers, government saw itself not as the public’s hired hands, but as its masters, and acted as arrogant, self-important enforcers of the most miniscule, meaningless, burdensome regulations. Letting the Maudes think things were being sorted out over a year, the Forest Service decided to show them who’s boss.
I’m sure Rep. Hageman will bring this matter to Donald Trump’s attention, and he’ll add it to his shock and awe “to do” list. It’s past time.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
This article was originally published at www.americanthinker.com
