Six Yellowstone County Deputy cars, a brand inspector and a cattle pot sit in the driveway at Steve Sian’s feedlot after confronting Charlie Holden and Steve Sian. (courtesy photo)
Forty-five head of cattle were seized from Holden Ranch on June 10th. At around 8:45 a.m., six police officers, a state livestock agent, and a cattle pot (a trailer for transporting cattle) drove into the feedlot where cows of the Holden Ranch were being housed and backed the cattle pot into the cattle shute. As officers talked to Charlie Holden (the owner of the cows), Steve Sian (the owner of the land), and others with them, they made it clear that they were there to take the cattle. Holden asked them if they had a warrant of which they did not but claimed that a lien was filed which allowed them to come onto private property and take the cows. A lien is a legal right to possess another’s property until a debt is repaid or an obligation is met. “The lien,” Holden claimed, “was not legitimate.” The lien in question was an agister’s lien, which didn’t allow officers to take the cattle because the livestock had to be in control of the one filing the lien. Because the cattle weren’t in control of the person who filed the lien, it was unlawful to take the cattle off private property. Holden disputed this claim with officers and continued to ask for a warrant, which they didn’t have, but continued to claim that the notice of lien was enough to grant them access to private property and seize approximately $100,000 worth of cattle.
Charlie Holden, Steve Sian, and others disputed this claim with officers for about an hour. They explained that the cows in question on the lien were from last year and had already been slaughtered and processed. As things escalated, officers then threatened to arrest those involved for obstructing the officers. Attempts were successful at bringing the cows back together with the rest of the herd by Steve Sian who was then threatened with arrest if another attempt of the kind occurred. After a time, Holden and company complied and allowed the officers to take the cattle which were then taken to the Public Auction Yards in Billings. “It was ugly, it was awful, and was like a scene from Yellowstone,” said Charlie Holden who visited with the Yellowstone County News.
In an interview with Steve Sian, he stated, “I knew … Read full story here
