Source: US FBI
PIERRE – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a woman from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, convicted of Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding a Federal Officer. The sentencing took place on August 18, 2025.
Michaela Big Eagle, age 27, was sentenced to time served in custody through August 25, 2025, equal to approximately six months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Big Eagle was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2025. She pleaded guilty on June 23, 2025.
The conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred on February 14, 2025, in Rosebud, South Dakota, within the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. On that date, Big Eagle was involved in a traffic stop and was questioned by a Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services Officer regarding methamphetamine use while Big Eagle was pregnant. While Big Eagle was in the officer’s patrol vehicle, she was informed that she was under arrest for Child Endangerment. Big Eagle got out of the patrol vehicle and ran to her own vehicle. She attempted to lock the vehicle doors, but the officer was able to get into the backseat of Big Eagle’s vehicle. Big Eagle ignored commands from the officer and fought with him over the keys to the vehicle. Big Eagle then started her vehicle and drove away at a high rate of speed. The officer fell out of Big Eagle’s vehicle as she drove away.
This 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.