Don't do the crime if you can't pay Rand Paul $580,000.Rene Boucher, the Republican senator’s neighbor in Kentucky, infamously tackled him in November 2017 in his yard, in a dispute over leaf trimmings. Paul suffered six fractured ribs as a result.On Wednesday, a Kentucky jury awarded Paul $375,000 in punitive damages as well as $200,000 for pain and suffering and almost $8,000 for medical expenses.Although Paul is a famous Republican politician, Boucher, an opthamologist and a registered Democrat, has said the attack was not political in nature. He said it was Paul’s careless disposal of leaves on his property that triggered the vendetta and attack. Boucher was charged with felony assault of a member of Congress and got a 30-day prison sentence as a result.“No one deserves to be violently assaulted,” Paul said in a statement at the time. “A felony conviction is appropriate and hopefully will deter the attacker from further violence.”Boucher’s attorney said he will appeal the monetary award to Paul. He has previously apologized to Paul and his family over the altercation.If you’re not buying the “it was just a feud over foliage” stuff, there are plenty of conspiracy theories about the feud between Paul and Boucher.Cover: In this Sept. 25, 2017, file photo, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
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