Prosecutors Offer Motive in Rand Paul Attack

It was one of the more infamous (and weird) neighborhood scraps, and now there's a federal felony charge attached. The Courier Journal reports Rand Paul's neighbor was on Friday charged in connection with the Nov. 3 attack on the senator that occurred as Paul was mowing his Bowling Green, Kentucky, lawn. Prosecutors said in a statement that Rene Boucher, 58, has signed a plea agreement, though he denied that politics played any role in the incident. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the Washington Post reports prosecutors are recommending 21 months.

In court documents, prosecutors argue Boucher observed Paul stacking brush into a pile close to Boucher's property, decided he "had enough," and ran into the senator in what prosecutors called a "running tackle." NBC News characterized it as a "sneak attack" in that Paul was pummeled from behind and had headphones on at the time; he suffered multiple fractured ribs. Josh Minkler, US Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, had this to say: "Assaulting a member of Congress is an offense we take very seriously. Those who choose to commit such an act will be held accountable." (More Rand Paul stories.)