This photo provided by the Warren County Regional Jail shows Rene Boucher, who has been arrested and charged with assaulting and injuring U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. Kentucky State Police said in a news release Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017 that Paul suffered a minor injury when 59-year-old Rene Boucher assaulted him at his Warren County home on Friday afternoon. (Warren County Regional Jail via AP)
Republished November 04, 2017 - 6:43 PM
Original Publication Date November 04, 2017 - 1:36 PM
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - A man has been arrested and charged with assaulting and injuring U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, authorities said Saturday.
Kentucky State Police said in a news release that Paul suffered a minor injury when 59-year-old Rene Boucher assaulted him at his Warren County home on Friday afternoon.
The release did not provide details of the assault or the nature of Paul's injury. In a statement, Paul spokeswoman Kelsey Cooper said the Republican senator is "fine." The statement said Paul was "blindsided" by the assault but she did not provide further details.
Boucher, of Bowling Green, is charged with fourth-degree assault with a minor injury, a misdemeanour. He is being held at Warren County's jail on $5,000 bond. An automated phone system at the jail did not provide access to lawyer information for Boucher.
Kentucky State Police Master Trooper Jeremy Hodges said he could not release details of the assault because of security issues. Hodges did say that Boucher is an acquaintance of Paul, an ophthalmologist who was elected to the Senate in 2010. It was not immediately clear how they knew each other.
Hodges said Boucher would have faced more serious charges if had he used a weapon or if Paul had been injured seriously.
"If he was using any type of a dangerous instrument, then it would have been a felony charge," Hodges said by telephone Saturday.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017