Rand Paul to return to Senate for first time since attack

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he will return to the Senate on Monday for the first time since being attacked outside his home.

Paul has been away from Washington recovering from six broken ribs and fluid buildup around his lungs sustained earlier this month when his neighbor allegedly assaulted him.

Kelley and I want to thank everyone once again for your thoughts and prayers for my recovery. While I’m still in a good deal of pain, I will be returning to work in the Senate today, ready to fight for liberty and help move forward with tax cuts in the coming days and weeks.

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 13, 2017

Rene Boucher, Paul’s neighbor for 17 years, pleaded not guilty last week to a fourth-degree assault charge. He faces up to a year in jail if convicted. He’s due back in court Nov. 30 for a pretrial hearing. 

Boucher’s lawyer said the feud was not related to politics, but was over a “trivial matter.”

An aide for Paul, however, called the incident a “blindside, violent attack,” and pushed back against reports that it resulted from a longstanding dispute. The Pauls had not spoken to the neighbor in many years, the aide said in a statement.

The New York Times reported that the alleged assault stemmed from an argument over landscaping.

Paul later tweeted two reports questioning suggestions that a landscaping dispute sparked the incident. Neither of the tweets included any commentary from the senator.