Court documents reveal a disagreement over Sen. Rand Paul's, MD, R-Ky., habit of leaving lawn debris in between his property and his physician neighbor's reportedly added to their growing feud, which culminated in an assault last fall, according to Vox.
Here are four things to know:
1. A spokesperson for Dr. Paul confirmed last November the senator had been assaulted by his neighbor, Rene Boucher, DO, earlier the same month. Dr. Boucher, 60, was arrested and charged with fourth-degree assault causing minor injury. He pleaded guilty to the charges in March, Vox reports. During the incident, Dr. Paul suffered six broken ribs and a pleural effusion, or buildup of fluid in the lining surrounding the lungs.
2. Dr. Boucher's lawyers filed a 10-page memo documenting the timeline of the dispute between the two neighbors. The memo claims Drs. Paul and Boucher's feud began in summer 2017, when Dr. Boucher — who some witnesses said was meticulous about his property — clipped several branches from one of Dr. Paul's trees extending onto his property. For months after, Dr. Paul proceeded to stack large piles of lawn debris 10 feet wide and 5 feet tall just off of Dr. Boucher's property line in multiple instances.
"Even though this debris was not on Dr. Boucher's property, he viewed it as unsightly — as it was placed directly in his line of sight from his patio and the back door of his house," the court filing said.
3. On Nov. 3, 2017, Dr. Paul had allegedly blown leaves onto Dr. Boucher's property and had begun rebuilding the pile of lawn debris Dr. Boucher had removed one day earlier.
"[Dr.] Rand Paul stepped away from his lawnmower, gathered several branches from an adjacent pile of trash and placed them in the exact location where the last pile had been burned just one day prior," the court filing said. "As Dr. Boucher has stated throughout, he lost his temper and tackled [Dr.] Rand Paul as [Dr.] Paul was carrying branches from another location on his property and placing them on the property line."
4. Lawyers for Dr. Boucher reiterated the dispute did not stem from a political disagreement, which would carry harsher penalties for the former anesthesiologist, whose medical license expired in 2015, according to the report. Dr. Boucher is expected to be sentenced June 15. While federal prosecutors have requested he be sentenced to 21 months in prison, Dr. Boucher's attorneys have asked the court to consider probation.
To access the full Vox report, click here.