The un-neighborly neighbor of Senator Rand Paul has pleaded guilty to the assault charge against him, stemming from an unprovoked attack last year.
Rene Boucher was released on a $25,000 unsecured bond on Friday after he formally pleaded guilty to one felony charge of assaulting a member of Congress resulting in personal injury, according to CNN.
His sentencing date is tentatively scheduled for June 15.
The case involves an attack at Senator Paul’s home on November 3, 2017.
As the senator was tending his lawn and stacking brush at the edge of his yard, Boucher charged at him, and in what was a blindside attack, ended up breaking six of Paul’s ribs and bruising his lungs.
Boucher agreed to the plea deal in January, and federal prosecutors are pursuing a 21-month jail sentence against him.
Twenty-one months seems a reasonable minimum. The senator has had to endure a long, arduous process of healing, and has described his recovery time as a “living hell.”
“I’m really proud of my yard,” Paul told late-night host Stephen Colbert. “How could someone be so mad about grass clippings?”
That attack followed a June 2017 shooting at an Alexandria baseball field, as lawmakers practiced for an upcoming charity baseball game.
James Hodgkinson, of Bellevue, Illinois, opened fire, seriously injuring House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise, as well as three others.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member