AFPI Launches Lawfare Advisory Council to Defend Farmers and Ranchers from Government Overreach

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) today announced the launch of its Farmers First Lawfare Advisory Council, a new effort to combat the weaponization of federal and state regulations against America’s agricultural communities.

Co-chaired by Tate Bennett, AFPI Director for Rural Policy, and Leigh Ann O’Neill, AFPI’s Chief Legal Affairs Officer, the Council will evaluate cases where farmers and ranchers have been unfairly targeted by excessive government overreach, including overregulation, environmental mandates, eminent domain, and various other government abuses.

The inaugural members of the Council include:

• Leigh Ann O’Neill, AFPI Chief Legal Affairs Officer and Lawfare Council Co-Chair
• Tate Bennett, AFPI Director of Rural Policy and Lawfare Council Co-Chair
• Brett Tolman, AFPI Chair for American Justice, former U.S. Attorney, and Inaugural Council Member.
• David Bernhardt, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior, and Inaugural Council Member.
• Sarah Falen Tate, Rancher, Attorney specializing in agricultural and environmental law, and Inaugural Council Member.
• John Rich, award-winning country music star, advocate for rural Americans, and Inaugural Council Member.
• Todd Rokita, Indiana Attorney General and Inaugural Council Member.
• Daniel Epstein, Attorney specializing in administrative law, former special advisor to President Trump, and Inaugural Council Member.

“The American farmer represents self-reliance and freedom—the same values our movement stands for,” said O’Neill. “When the law is used to crush those values, we must respond with strength and resolve.”

“Lawfare is the weaponization of the legal system against the very people it’s meant to protect—it’s government at its worst not its best” added Tolman. “AFPI’s Lawfare Advisory Council will shine a light on these abuses and defend the rights of farmers, ranchers, and rural Americans.”

The Council’s creation formalizes AFPI’s longstanding leadership role in taking on lawfare against farmers and ranchers—building on AFPI’s recent work exposing and combatting government lawfare against the Maude Family in South Dakota, Andy Henry in New Jersey, and farmers and ranchers at risk of losing dams in Potter Valley, California. Through the Council, AFPI will continue leading the national conversation on how regulatory and legal systems have been weaponized against rural America.

The Council will produce ongoing “Lawfare Watch” briefs and prepare broader legislative and policy recommendations to prevent future abuses.