Sen. Paul: No ongoing neighbour dispute before attack

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – U.S. Sen. Rand Paul says he hadn’t spoken for years to a neighbour who alleges in court documents that he lost his temper and attacked Paul after a problem with yard debris in their Kentucky subdivision.

A statement from Paul’s office Tuesday says Paul “had no conversations or discussions with the attacker” in the last decade.

The neighbour, Dr. Rene Boucher, is facing a 21-month sentence for assaulting a member of Congress. Boucher says in a sentencing memorandum that he lost his temper on the day of the Nov. 3 attack. Boucher says Paul repeatedly stacked yard debris near their property line.

Boucher says he spoke with members of the homeowner’s association about the issue, but a Paul spokesman says the senator didn’t hear from the association.

Paul’s statement says “any description of this attack that implies a ‘yard dispute’ justifies such violence and misses the point.”