We were told the injuries were not serious. That wasn’t true. Some rib injuries can, in fact, be life-threatening. From what this article says about the injuries, it sounds to me like he had to be hit with an object, like a baseball bat. We’ll see.

Also note the report that the FBI is trying to determine if a federal law was broken. Is it not easy to assess that a potentially fatal attack on a US senator is a federal crime?

Via AP & Trib Live.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul was recovering Sunday from five broken ribs after he was assaulted by a neighbor who tackled him from behind at the senator’s Kentucky home, officials said.

Senior Adviser Doug Stafford said it is unclear when the Republican will return to work since he is in considerable pain and has difficulty getting around, including flying. Stafford said this type of injury is marked by severe pain that can last for weeks to months.

“This type of injury is caused by high velocity severe force,” Stafford said in an email to The Associated Press.

Police arrested 59-year-old Rene Boucher on Saturday and charged him with misdemeanor fourth-degree assault with a minor injury. Boucher lives next door to Paul and his wife, according to Warren County property records.

Boucher was released from jail Saturday on a $7,500 bond. He has a court date scheduled for Thursday…

A spokeswoman for Paul said he was “blindsided” by the attack, but did not provide more details. Police have not said what motivated the attack. Kentucky State Police Master Trooper Jeremy Hodges said the FBI checking to see if the attack was politically motivated.

FBI spokesman David Habich said the agency is aware of the incident and is “working with our state and local partners to determine if there was a violation of federal law.”

Stafford said Paul had three displaced fractures, which can lead to life-threatening injuries, as well as lung contusions. Paul and his wife, Kelley, “appreciate everyone’s thoughts and well wishes and he will be back fighting for liberty in the Senate soon,” Stafford said.

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6 Comments | Leave a comment
  1. katieh09 says:

    Description of Paul’s injury doesn’t match the assailant’s charge of “assault with a minor injury “.

    • TigerAim says:

      Exactly. What the H is going on around here when very serious crimes are treated so lightly? And, at other times, someone just says the wrong thing and they are threatened with actual jail time? It feels like we are getting past the point of no return in this country.

      • Vintageport says:

        Tiger Aim, we’ve reached and gone beyond the “Tipping Point” as described by Malcolm Gladwell. It’ll take someone who couldn’t care less what others think about him, and 7 more years, to get us back on the right side of that point.

        • TigerAim says:

          I agree with that view, Vintageport. It seems like even Donald Trump, as good as he is in many ways at just throwing it all out there, does not want to rock the boat as much as we sometimes need. Case in point that comes to mind for me is his saying, as they all practically do, that he’d move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, but then, he just leaves it as is, exactly like the Bushes and all the others. We also need all the Obama embeds out of the various federal departments, but clearly most remain. Smh!

  2. Shifra says:

    Assault is always horrible, but considering that Rand Paul is also an eye surgeon makes this attack is even more despicable. If he would have gotten a hand broken, it would have had a serious impact on his ability to perform any more surgeries. He has been performing surgeries to those in need, free of charge:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKeRvOIYRgU

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