Sen. Rand Paul was assaulted at his home in Bowling Green, Kentucky by an irate neighbor while he was mowing his lawn on Friday afternoon, according to neighbors.
Kentucky State Police have arrested the senator’s assailant, identified as Rene Boucher, 59, of Bowling Green for intentionally assaulting Paul at his home, causing minor injury, local law-enforcement officials confirmed to Fox News.
Boucher was arrested and charged with one count of 4th degree assault – minor injury. He was taken to the nearby Warren County Detention Center where he is being held on $5,000 bail.
A second neighbor told local news station WNKY said that the Senator was mowing his lawn around 3 p.m. on Friday when Boucher assaulted him. The neighbor also confirmed that the two share a corner adjacent to their homes and have been embroiled in an ongoing feud.
The assailant could face up to a year in jail for the Class A misdemeanor. Local newspaper, The Bowling Green Daily News reports that Warren County Attorney Amy Milliken said Boucher could face extra charges.
Officials for Sen. Paul’s office say that the former presidential candidate did not suffer any major injuries.
“Senator Paul was blindsided and the victim of an assault,” Kelsey Cooper, a spokeswoman for Paul, said in a statement to thehill.com. “The assailant was arrested and it is now a matter for the police. Senator Paul is fine.”
Voting records from the Kentucky State Board of Election list Boucher as a registered democrat, according to The Daily Caller. A person with his name also works as an anesthesiologist in Bowling Green.
The Daily News also reported that Boucher was awarded a 2003 patent for a pain relief product called Therm-a-vest, which was sold on QVC in 2005, according to a news report at the time.
A Facebook account that is alleged to be maintained by Boucher was found to contain multiple anti-Trump postings.
