Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
A Sioux Falls woman has been sentenced for assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer. U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte delivered the sentence on August 18, 2025.
Michaela Big Eagle, 27, received a sentence of time served in custody through August 25, 2025. This period amounts to about six months in federal prison. She will also serve three years of supervised release and must pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Big Eagle was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2025 and pleaded guilty on June 23, 2025.
The conviction is connected to an incident that took place on February 14, 2025, in Rosebud, South Dakota, within the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. During a traffic stop, a Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services Officer questioned Big Eagle about methamphetamine use while she was pregnant. The officer informed her she was under arrest for child endangerment while she was sitting in the patrol vehicle. Big Eagle exited the patrol vehicle and ran to her own car. She tried to lock herself inside but the officer entered through the backseat. Ignoring commands from the officer, Big Eagle struggled with him over her car keys before starting her vehicle and driving away at high speed. The officer fell out of her vehicle as she left.
The case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Zachrison prosecuted the case.
Big Eagle was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
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