The man accused of attacking Senator Rand Paul in his yard has been charged with the federal crime of assaulting a member of Congress as part of a federal plea agreement.
Rene Boucher signed a plea agreement Friday for the November 3 attack on the Republican senator in Kentucky, according to J Minkler, US Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.
And Boucher’s lawyer confirmed what’s long been suggested by neighbors: The attack stemmed from a dispute about yard maintenance. A date has not yet set for his guilty plea for the attack.
Rene Boucher signed a plea agreement Friday for the attack on the Republican senator in Kentucky, according to J Minkler, US Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana
Boucher faces possible prison time, and his attorney says he is ‘very regretful’ about the attack and that it had to do with the upkeep of their yards.
‘Assaulting a member of Congress is an offense we take very seriously,’ Minkler said in a release.
‘Those who choose to commit such an act will be held accountable.’
Boucher faces possible prison time, and his attorney says he is ‘very regretful’ about the attack and that it had to do with the upkeep of their yards.
Paul and Boucher are longtime neighbors in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
‘This is over a matter that most people would regard as trivial,’ Boucher’s attorney, Matt Baker, said in a phone interview Friday. ‘It has to do with yards and the maintenance of those.’
Boucher is ‘very meticulous’ about how he maintains his yard, while Paul takes ‘a much different approach’ to the upkeep of his property, Baker said.
‘It all goes to large piles of leaves and branches and yard clutter that were placed on the property line,’ Baker said.
Some residents of the gated neighborhood had speculated the attack was motivated by a dispute over yard debris- but Paul’s office rejected that.
Paul told the Fox News Channel in November that ultimately, the motive does not matter.
Boucher is ‘very meticulous’ about how he maintains his yard, while Paul takes ‘a much different approach’ to the upkeep of his property, Baker said. Pictured is Boucher’s home
Some residents of the gated neighborhood had speculated the attack was motivated by a dispute over yard debris- but Paul’s office rejected that. Paul’s home in Bowling Green, where he was attacked, is pictured
Boucher, a retired anesthesiologist in his late 50s, already faces a misdemeanor assault charge in state court in Kentucky. He has pleaded not guilty to that charge.
Baker said Friday that he’s hopeful the state charge will be dismissed now that Boucher has reached the plea agreement on the federal charge.
Paul, a former presidential candidate, was attacked Nov. 3 while mowing his lawn at his home. A close friend of Paul’s said the senator had gotten off his riding lawn mower to remove a limb when he was tackled from behind. Paul has said he never saw the attacker because he was facing downhill and wearing ear protection from the noise of his lawn mower.
Paul suffered six broken ribs in the attack.
He returned to Washington less than two weeks later but developed pneumonia when he returned to Kentucky. Paul has since said he’s recovering well from the attack.
Baker said Friday the attack was ‘completely, 100 percent out of character’ for Boucher. He said his client is looking forward to getting the case resolved.
Boucher faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine in the federal case.
‘He is facing the possibility of incarceration, but I’m hopeful that it won’t be anything toward the top end,’ Baker said.
Minkler’s office was assigned the case after a U.S. attorney in Kentucky recused himself. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Louisville office.