The wife of a Republican senator who was assaulted by a neighbor earlier this month says that claims that the attack was motivated by a personal dispute are utterly baseless, adding that her husband continues to suffer from his injuries.
On Friday, November 3rd, 59-year-old Rene Albert Boucher of Bowling Green, Kentucky entered Senator Rand Paul’s property and assaulted the Republican senator.
Boucher was arrested shortly after the attack and has been charged with fourth-degree assault. Boucher pled not guilty to the charges at a Kentucky court this week.
Senator Paul, who had been mowing his lawn at the time of the attack, was “blindsided” by his neighbor and suffered multiple broken ribs.
While police initially described the injuries as “minor”, an aide to Senator Paul later described the injuries as potentially “life-threatening”.
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.”
Despite reporting that Boucher, a registered Democrat who donated to Paul’s 2010 election opponent, had vitriolic posts on his social media accounts wishing harm on Republican officials including President Trump, Boucher’s lawyer argued that the assault had nothing to do with politics.
Many media outlets accepted the claim made by Boucher’s attorney, speculating that the attack may have been prompted by a dispute over lawn clippings – a claim Paul’s wife says is utterly baseless.
Rand Paul’s wife, Kelley, penned an article published by CNN Tuesday, denouncing the wild media speculation following the attack, and describing the extent of her husband’s injuries.
“The average person takes 20,000 breaths a day. Since November 3, my husband, Rand Paul, has not taken a single one without pain. He has not had a single night's sleep uninterrupted by long periods of difficult breathing or excruciating coughing.”
Kelley Paul wrote that the senator, who she clarified has six broken ribs, rather than five as had been previously reported, was suffering from pneumonia and a damaged lung.
“The impact left Rand with six broken ribs, three displaced, pleural effusion and now pneumonia. This has been a terrible experience; made worse by the media's gleeful attempts to blame Rand for it, ridiculing him for everything from mowing his own lawn to composting.”