United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell has announced that Jared Red Cloud from Rapid City, South Dakota, has been sentenced to nine months in federal prison. The sentence, delivered by U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler, follows Red Cloud's conviction on two counts of assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to an intimate partner. Each count carries a term of three years supervised release after prison, which will run concurrently. Red Cloud must also pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
In August 2024, a federal grand jury charged Red Cloud with assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to an intimate partner and assault by strangulation and suffocation. In January 2025, he pleaded guilty. The charges are linked to a pattern of violence by Red Cloud against the mother of his child. Incidents in 2021 and 2024 involved physical abuse, including bruising the victim's face and body. The court highlighted this ongoing abuse when rejecting Red Cloud's request for probation or time served, opting for a nine-month prison sentence instead.
The Department of Justice notes that domestic violence involves abusive behavior used by one partner to control another. Various resources are available for victims through the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women and local law enforcement.
The case falls under federal jurisdiction due to the Major Crimes Act, which requires certain violent crimes in Indian Country to be prosecuted federally rather than at the state level. The investigation was conducted by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division, with prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth. Following sentencing, Red Cloud was placed in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.