BOWLING GREEN, Kentucky — U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s neighbor has been sentenced to 30 days in prison for attacking him in a dispute over yard waste, and the Republican lawmaker says he’s fine with that.
Rene Boucher pleaded guilty to assaulting a member of Congress. Boucher complained that Paul stacked debris near their property line in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Paul said he hadn’t spoken to Boucher for years.
Boucher said he spoke with members of the homeowner’s association about his complaint, but a Paul spokesman says the senator didn’t hear from the association. Paul’s statement says “any description of this attack that implies a ‘yard dispute’ justifies such violence and misses the point.”
According to the arrest warrant for Boucher, Paul suffered “small cuts to the nose and mouth area, and had trouble breathing.” The attack left Paul with six broken ribs, cuts on his face and fluid buildup in his chest. He was later diagnosed with pneumonia.
U.S. District Judge Marianne Battani called November’s attack a “dispute between neighbors” and an “isolated incident,” not motivated by politics. Boucher also must serve a year of supervised release. Federal prosecutors sought 21 months, but a statement from Paul calls 30 days “appropriate.”
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