Federal prosecutors recommend 21 month sentence for Rand Paul attacker

Federal prosecutors plan to recommend that the neighbor charged in the assault of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R) get a 21-month prison sentence, according to a court filing.

A court document filed Monday and reported by The Lexington Herald-Leader shows prosecutors will seek just under two years in jail for the assault that left Paul hospitalized last year. The neighbor, Rene Boucher, has admitted to the assault but says it was not politically motivated.

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Boucher has yet to officially plead guilty, as a trial date has not been set. He has signed a plea agreement, which states that Boucher will make restitution of some sort to Paul.

Monday’s court document also makes clear that federal prosecutors do not believe the crime was politically motivated, according to the newspaper.

The disagreement between the two men centers around lawn maintenance, according to Boucher’s attorney Matthew Baker. The assault occurred after Boucher’s attorney says Paul placed brush on a pile near Boucher’s property line.

“It just became … a point of frustration that boiled over,” Baker said. Boucher “executed a running tackle,” according to court documents, injuring the senator, who according to court documents didn’t hear the attack coming.

Paul was treated last year for several broken ribs and pneumonia as a result of the attack. Paul is a practicing physician, and Boucher is a retired anesthesiologist.

Paul told Fox News last year he and Boucher had not previously spoken in a decade.

“After my ribs were broken, then he said things to me to try to indicate why he was unhappy but I think the, I guess to me the bottom line is it isn’t so important — if someone mugs you is it really justified for any reason?” he told the news network.