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 read more
