Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was assaulted at his home on Friday, according to police.
“Senator Paul was blindsided and the victim of an assault,” spokesperson Kelsey Cooper said Saturday, as quoted by several outlets. “The assailant was arrested and it is now a matter for the police. Senator Paul is fine.”
Rene Boucher, 59, of Bowling Green, has been charged with fourth degree assault, according to a press release from Kentucky State Police shared with TPM (read the full release below).
Local station WBKO first reported the alleged assault Saturday, followed by several other outlets. WBKO reported that Paul was not transported to the hospital, according to police.
Citing Boucher’s arrest warrant, Politico reported that Boucher admitted to tackling Paul. The outlet continued:
Boucher’s altercation with Paul left the senator having difficulty breathing as a result of a “possible rib injury” in addition to bleeding from cuts around his mouth. Paul was seeking medical help for his injuries, the warrant said.
Police responded to Paul’s residence at 3:21 p.m. on Friday, according to their statement, and Boucher’s detention record, published by WBKO, shows he was processed at Warren County Regional Jail at 8:51 p.m. ET on Friday. Boucher’s bond was set at $5,000, according to the record.
Fourth degree assault, the state’s least serious assault classification, is described by the Kentucky penal code as follows:
(1) A person is guilty of assault in the fourth degree when:
(a) He intentionally or wantonly causes physical injury to another person; or
(b) With recklessness he causes physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument
According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, a state police spokesperson said the FBI was on the scene to determine if the alleged assault had been politically motivated.
Kentucky State Police, according to the WBKO, said Boucher was an acquaintance of Paul’s.
The Bowling Green Daily News reported that property records a house registered to someone named Rene Boucher was located in the same gated community as Paul’s residence. Politico reported Boucher and Paul were neighbors.
The Daily News noted that Boucher is an anesthesiologist and inventor of a pain relief product called the Therm-a-Vest, which the same publication profiled 12 years ago.
Read the Kentucky State Police’s full news release concerning the alleged assault below, as shared with TPM on Saturday:
Bowling Green, KY (November 4, 2017) On Friday, November 3, 2017 at 3:21 p.m., KSP Troopers responded to the residence of Rand Paul in Warren County, in reference to a report of an assault. Upon their arrival, it was determined that Rene Boucher had intentionally assaulted Paul causing a minor injury.
A warrant of arrest was issued through the Warren County Attorney’s office, and obtained for Rene Boucher. Boucher, 59, of Bowling Green, was arrested by Trooper Bartley Weaver, charged with one count of Assault 4th—minor injury, and lodged in the Warren County Detention Center.
This investigation is being led by Trooper Weaver, and is still ongoing. No further information is available for release at this time.
This report has been updated.
