A Republican senator who was assaulted by his neighbor in front of his home last Friday suffered more serious injuries than was initially reported, including some that a senior advisor described as potentially “life-threatening”.
At 3:21 p.m. local time on Friday, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was attacked in front of his home in Bowling Green by a neighbor, a registered Democrat, who charged the senator while he was mowing his lawn.
The assailant, 59-year-old, “blindsided” Paul, charging Paul while the senator had headphones on, Robert Porter, a friend of Paul, told The Washington Post.
A neighbor of the Paul family for 17 years, Boucher donated to Paul’s 2010 senate campaign’s Democratic opponent. The Daily caller noted that Boucher’s Facebook page was littered with hyperbolic anti-Republican and anti-Trump posts, including a May 17th entry which read: “May Robert Mueller fry Trump’s gonads.”
Police initially reported that the senator’s injuries were “minor”.
Boucher “had intentionally assaulted Paul, causing a minor injury,” police reported.
Porter confirmed the police report, saying that Paul was “in some pain, but he’s going to be fine.”
Now, however, it appears that the senator’s injuries were far more severe.
Paul senior advisor Doug Stafford informed the Bowling Green Daily News that he senator had in fact suffered potentially “life-threatening injuries”, though Stafford did not indicate that the senator’s life was in jeopardy.
Stafford told the Bowling Green Daily News that Paul’s injuries included five broken ribs, three of which were displaced fractures.
“Senator Paul has five rib fractures including 3 displaced fractures," said Stafford. "This type of injury is caused by high velocity severe force. It is not clear exactly how soon he will return to work, as the pain is considerable as is the difficulty in getting around, including flying."
"Displaced rib fractures can lead to life-threatening injuries such as: hemopneumothorax, pneumothorax, pneumonia, internal bleeding, laceration of internal organs and lung contusions.”
Authorities say Boucher admitted to attacking Paul, though he claims he merely ‘tackled’ the senator.
While no details have been released regarding Boucher's motive in the attack, the suspect's attorney, Matt Baker, claimed that his client's political differences with Paul were not the root cause. Baker claimed that the attack was sparked by a dispute "most people would find trivial."
Neither Senator Paul nor his staff have yet responded to Baker's claims.