The neighbor of Sen. Rand Paul who attacked the Kentucky Republican outside his home last year was sentenced to 30 days in federal prison on Friday.
Rene Boucher, 59, who became enraged over yard debris he says Paul repeatedly stacked near the line between their two properties, tackled the senator in November, leading to six broken ribs.
Boucher, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to assaulting a member of Congress, was also sentenced to one year of supervised release, 100 hours of community service and a fine of $10,000, WBKO reported.
“No one deserves to be violently assaulted,” Paul said in a statement obtained by Fox News. “A felony conviction with jail time is appropriate and hopefully will deter the attacker from further violence. I commend the FBI and Department of Justice for treating this violent, pre-meditated assault with the seriousness it deserves.”
He added that Boucher deserved a significantly longer prison term.
“We believe the original 21-month sentence requested would have been the appropriate punishment.”
The dispute over the debris began last September, when Paul reportedly placed a pile of tree limbs near his neighbor’s property. The neighbor removed the pile later in October, in portable dumpsters.
“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,” according to a court filing from his defense team.
The senator placed more limbs in two more piles that same month.
In early November, Boucher burned some of the debris using gasoline. He allegedly suffered second-degree burns from the fire.
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The following day, Bourcher’s team said, Paul blew leaves onto his neighbor’s property using a lawnmower, which the court document states created another pile of branches.
“As Dr. Boucher has stated throughout, he lost his temper and tackled Rand Paul as Paul was carrying branches from another location on his property and placing them on the property line,” the defense document reads.
Paul’s office has pushed back against notions that he and Boucher had an ongoing dispute in a statement to Fox News.
“There was no ‘longstanding dispute.’ This description is untrue,” Paul’s spokesperson told the outlet. “It is impossible to have a dispute when no words of disagreement were ever spoken — neither immediately nor at any other time before the attack occurred.”