Eagle Butte Man Found Guilty of Threatening Federal Official

PIERRE - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a jury has convicted Joseph Lafferty, age 68, of Eagle Butte, South Dakota, of one count of Threatening a Federal Official following a 3-day jury trial in federal district court in Pierre, South Dakota.  The verdict was returned on January 23, 2026.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of six years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, with a violation of a condition of release possibly resulting in two years of additional incarceration on any such revocation, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.

Lafferty was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2025.

The evidence presented at trial established that on July 21, 2025, Lafferty threatened to get his gun and kill a federal official employed by Indian Health Service, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.  The Defendant made the threat in Eagle Butte, in the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation.

“This jury verdict should send a clear message,” said U.S. Attorney Parsons.  “We take threats of violence against public officials very seriously and they will be investigated and swiftly prosecuted under the full force of the law.”

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Venhuizen prosecuted the case.

A presentence investigation was ordered.  Sentencing has been scheduled for April 20, 2026.  The defendant was continued on release pending sentencing.