U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s long-time neighbor pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he assaulted the Kentucky Republican while he was mowing his lawn.
Rene Boucher only spoke to reply ‘yes sir’ to a judge during a brief arraignment.
He showed no emotion and kept his head down. Boucher faces up to a year in jail if convicted of fourth-degree assault.
Paul, who was not at the hearing, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that he suffered six broken ribs and has excess fluid around his lungs.
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul’s long-time neighbor, Rene Boucher (above) pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he assaulted the Kentucky Republican while he was mowing his lawn
Boucher (above)only spoke to reply ‘yes sir’ to a judge during a brief arraignment. He showed no emotion and kept his head down. Boucher faces up to a year in jail if convicted of fourth-degree assault
Paul (above), who was not at the hearing, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that he suffered six broken ribs and has excess fluid around his lungs
‘I appreciate all of the support from everyone. A medical update: final report indicates six broken ribs & new X-ray shows a pleural effusion,’ Paul tweeted (above)
‘I appreciate all of the support from everyone. A medical update: final report indicates six broken ribs & new X-ray shows a pleural effusion,’ Paul tweeted.
The injuries have sidelined Paul from the Senate as he recovers at his home.
Warren County District Judge Brent Potter set a pre-trial court date for November 30.
Boucher has been ordered to stay away from Paul and the senator’s family.
Boucher’s attorney has called the situation ‘a very regrettable dispute’ that was ‘trivial.’
Attorney Matthew Baker claims the incident between the two was not politically motivated.
Neighbors said the pair share a corner adjacent to their homes and have been in the midst of a feud. They’ve been neighbor’s for 17 years in the gated community
‘It has nothing to do with politics… nothing,’ Baker told WHAS.
‘It has zero to do with Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, anything along those lines.
‘It has to do with a disagreement between two neighbors…’
Boucher was first arrested and charged with one count of fourth-degree assault of the Republican congressman November 5th before being released the next day on a $7,500 bond.
Paul and Boucher have been neighbors for 17 years in a gated community.
Rob Porter, a close friend of the lawmaker, said this week that Paul doesn’t know why he was attacked.
Boucher (pictured right in arrest photo) is an anesthesiologist and pain specialist who developed a product called Therm-a-Vest
Paul was mowing his yard and had stopped to remove a limb when Boucher tackled him from behind, Porter said.
Paul was wearing ear protection and didn’t hear Boucher coming, the friend said.
According to the Bowling Green Daily News, Boucher is an anesthesiologist and pain specialist who developed a product called Therm-a-Vest.
It is a cloth vest partially filled with rice that is supposed to help with back pain.
He once marketed the product on the QVC shopping channel.
In May, Boucher posted on his Facebook page about Trump ‘bullying’ NATO leaders and an article about and Congressman Greg Gianforte assaulting The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs in Bozeman, Montana.