Retired anesthesiologist Rene Boucher intends to plead guilty in Federal Court to charges that he assaulted Kentucky Senator Rand Paul last November.  Mr. Boucher’s attack on Paul caused media and public alike to postulate on what had driven the retired doctor to attack Senator Paul, breaking five ribs in the melee that followed. In the end, it seems that the consistent bickering with Paul over fallen leaves and stacked brush caused the doctor to snap.

Many in the media theorized when the attack happened that Boucher attacked Paul over their political differences (Boucher is a registered Democrat while Paul is a libertarian-leaning Republican). That never sat right with me, even in the fallout of #Election2016 and the ensuing insanity that has reigned since. When Paul was attacked in early November of 2017, Mr. Boucher was arrested and charged with fourth-degree assault which in Kentucky is a Class A misdemeanor. The manner of the attack was particularly vicious as Paul was blindsided and ended up with five broken ribs after the assault was over.

Today the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced that they would be charging Mr. Boucher with assaulting a member of Congress, which is a federal crime under Section 381 of Title 18 U.S. Code subsection 351. This statute calls for either a fine or up to ten years of imprisonment, or both, for anyone who assaults a member of Congress if personal injury results. I certainly think that breaking five ribs on a sitting Senator counts as “causing personal injury”.

According to his attorney, Matthew J. Baker, Boucher continues to express remorse and regrets his actions last November. For the Senator’s part, his office has declined to comment as of Friday when the charges against Boucher were announced. According to U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler, “Those who choose to commit such an act will be held accountable.”. Title 18 came into being in the wake of the Kennedy assassination making it a federal crime to kill, kidnap, or assault the President or Vice President. In 1968 Senator Robert Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles and three years later in 1971, Congress passed the law in its current form extending the statute to include members of Congress.

Paul was recently on “Face The Nation” and said that the road to recovery has been fraught with challenges. He was reduced to not being able to get out of bed unassisted, having multiple broken ribs, sustaining damage to his lungs and suffering two bouts of pneumonia. Honestly, I think Boucher should thank his lucky stars that Rand Paul is as hale and hearty as he is. Otherwise, he might be facing a choice of life in prison or the death penalty. I guess it just goes to show that no matter how rough things get on Capitol Hill, it is scarier to go home to their district’s sometimes.