Who Is Rene Albert Boucher? Rand Paul's Neighbor Allegedly Attacked Republican Senator

UPDATE: Nov. 6, 2017, 3:40 p.m. EDT - The lawyer representing Rene Boucher released a statement Monday afternoon regarding the alleged attack on Sen. Rand Paul. Boucher, Paul's neighbor, allegedly attacked the senator inside his home Friday.

"Senator Paul and Dr. Boucher have been next door neighbors for 17 years," Matthew Baker told Fox News. "They are also prominent members of the local medical community and worked together when they were both practicing physicians. The unfortunate occurrence of November 3rd has absolutely nothing to do with either's politics or political agendas. It was a very regrettable dispute between two neighbors over a matter that most people would regard as trivial. We sincerely hope that Senator Paul is doing well and that these two gentlemen can get back to being neighbors as quickly as possible."

Original story:

Republican Sen. Rand Paul has suffered five broken ribs after he was allegedly attacked by a neighbor in his home in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on Friday, reports said.

Though police had said Saturday that Paul had received "minor injuries" after being assaulted by neighbor Rene Albert Boucher, Doug Stafford, a senior strategist to Paul, said in a statement Sunday said the "pain is considerable."

He also said it remained unclear as to when Paul would be able to return to his work, a report said.

"Senator Paul has five rib fractures including three displaced fractures," Stafford said. "This type of injury is caused by high velocity severe force. It is not clear exactly how soon he will return to work, as the pain is considerable as is the difficulty in getting around, including flying."

Kentucky State Troopers said Boucher had assaulted the senator "intentionally." It is still not known why Boucher attacked the senator. Capitol Police and the FBI are investigating into the matter, CNN reported.

A criminal complaint stated that Paul told the police that Boucher "came onto his property and tackled him from behind, forcing him to the ground and causing pain." Boucher also admitted of tackling the senator, the complaint said.

Boucher was arrested after Paul reported the attack and the Warren County attorney's office issued an arrest warrant, police said.

He was charged with one count of fourth-degree assault causing minor injuries, Reuters reported citing the Kentucky State Police's statement that it gave Saturday.

The attacker was booked into the Warren County Regional Jail and was released Saturday on $7,500 bond, Captain Chip Olney of the facility said. Olney added that Boucher is set to appear in court Thursday.

A neighbor told NBC affiliate WAVE of Louisville that Paul and Boucher have had ongoing problems and that the former was mowing the lawn at the time of the incident. However, state police have not confirmed these details.

Boucher is an anesthesiologist and an inventor of Therm-a-Vest — a cloth vest that is partly filled with rice and secured with Velcro straps and designed to relieve back pain.

He has also worked at several local medical facilities through the years, the Washington Post reported citing public health records.

In an interview Sunday, David Ciochetty, a doctor with Interventional Pain Specialists in Bowling Green, said that Boucher worked there as a “general pain medicine physician” for about a year-and-a-half in January 2010 before leaving, the Post reported.

The doctor expressed surprise when asked what could have driven Boucher to assault Paul. Ciochetty said: "The rest of Bowling Green would like to know that, too. I was quite surprised to see this in the news."

Some pointed out toward the difference in political ideology of Paul and Boucher. Jeff Jones, a registered nurse who worked with Boucher at the Bowling Green Medical Center, said Boucher had "liberal" views.

"He was active on social media and said some negative things about the Republican agenda," Jones said.

"I think it was unfortunate that they lived so close together," he added, according to the Post.