First things first: Sen. Rand Paul is fine. But still …
Rand Paul has been assaulted at his home. Welcome to politics 2017.
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) November 4, 2017
Kentucky State Police say a neighbor of Paul has been jailed for fourth-degree assault.
Sen. Rand Paul assaulted at his residence. https://t.co/byZ4832naf
— WBKO Television (@wbkotv) November 4, 2017
https://twitter.com/lookner/status/926911404770291717
Kentucky State Police say Rene Boucher is accused of assaulting U.S. Sen. Rand Paul. pic.twitter.com/VFHBi78BuA
— ?? ?❄️ Proud Liberal #FBR ❄️? ?? (@IzJustMyOpinion) November 4, 2017
Daniel Pike, the managing editor of the Bowling Green Daily News, has more:
Kentucky State Police say BG man is accused of assaulting U.S. Sen. Rand Paul. More soon at https://t.co/0e4oaL9gA7. pic.twitter.com/VODOihjrCa
— Daniel Pike (@DPikeBGDN) November 4, 2017
Statement from Paul spokeswoman @kelseyc00per: "Senator Paul was blindsided and the victim of an assault. … 1/2
— Daniel Pike (@DPikeBGDN) November 4, 2017
"… The assailant was arrested and it is now a matter for the police. Senator Paul is fine.” 2/2
— Daniel Pike (@DPikeBGDN) November 4, 2017
A Bowling Green man was arrested Friday and charged with fourth-degree assault following an incident at the Bowling Green home of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul.
Rene Boucher, 59, is in the Warren County Regional Jail in lieu of a $5,000 bond, according to online jail records available Saturday afternoon.
Paul suffered minor injuries, according to a news release from Kentucky State Police Post 3 in Bowling Green, which did not describe the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Members of Congress have expressed concern to US Capitol Police about threat of attacks back home https://t.co/fc9YlwiRBC
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) November 4, 2017
I'm hardly a Paul fan, but this is unacceptable. And IF the motive is political, it's part of a scary trend of legislators being targeted. https://t.co/YWC6D0GqN8
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) November 4, 2017
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Update:
WNKY TV reports that the attack was politically motivated:
Breaking: Man who assaulted Sen. Paul lives next door to him. @wnkytv just knocked suspect door. FBI says it was politically motivated. pic.twitter.com/YrbeBnsskB
— WNKY TV (@wnkytv) November 4, 2017
Also, Chuck Ross of The Daily Caller has tracked down some information on the suspect from social media.
Rand Paul's attacker is an anesthesiologist whose social media reveals an intense dislike for Trump. https://t.co/flb9L8W3aJ @dailycaller
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) November 4, 2017
A Facebook account that appears to be maintained by Boucher contains numerous anti-Donald Trump postings.
On May 17, Boucher posted, “May Robert Mueller fry Trump’s gonads,” a reference to the former FBI director’s investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.
There are no postings on the account about Paul, though there are many others that criticize Republicans in general.
Twitchy will update this post if further details become available.
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