Rand Paul's Neighbor Attacked Him Over a Dispute the Two Had About Yard Waste

It's been nearly a decade since Sen. Rand Paul's neighbor attacked him and hurt him so badly that he had to be hospitalized. During the confirmation hearings for Markwayne Mullin, President Trump's new nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security, the attack on Paul came up, largely because of what Mullin said about it after the fact.

The reminder about Paul's attack left many wondering why Paul had been attacked by his neighbor. Here's what we know about why the incident occurred.

Rand Paul's neighbor, Rene Boucher, attacked the senator over a dispute about yard waste. According to court documents, Boucher had "had enough" of the senator's yard maintenance habits after he saw Paul stacking brush into a pile in his own yard. Boucher then ran onto Paul's property and tackled him. Paul testified that he "flew 10 feet in the air" as a result of the attack, and that he had broken several ribs in the process that still caused him pain.

Boucher was charged with assaulting a member of Congress and initially sentenced to 30 days in prison, 100 hours of community service, and a $10,000 fine. He was eventually sentenced to an additional eight months of jail time as well as six months of home confinement. Paul also filed a civil case in which he won $580,000 in compensatory damages as a result of the assault.

During a recent hearing on Capitol Hill, Sen. Paul confronted Mullin over a past incident where Mullin allegedly called him a "freaking snake" and said he "completely" understands why Paul's neighbor might have attacked him.

“Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it,” Paul said, after also invoking the viral moment when Mullin appeared to challenge a union leader to a fist fight in the middle of a Congressional hearing.

“And while you’re at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and border patrol agents," he added. “I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force."

Paul's attack has clearly has a lingering effect on his perspective, so much so that Mullin's comments about it may change the way he ultimately votes on his nomination.

Although Paul is a member of the Republican Party, he has been one of the few senators who sometimes buck the president and his party on matters he considers to be important.

Mullin is likely to be confirmed as the next DHS secretary, but it seems like Paul is going to make that process as difficult for him as possible. Hopefully, Mullin doesn't challenge anyone else to a fist fight while he's trying to prove he can be calm and collected.