Breaking: Man who assaulted Rand Paul hit with federal charges

Two months after Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was assaulted while mowing his lawn at his home in Kentucky, the man who attacked him is facing federal charges.

Here's the charges he's facing:

The United States Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Indiana released a statement describing the charges Friday.

The statement said that 58-year-old Rene A. Boucher was charged with felony assault of a member of Congress.

“Assaulting a member of Congress is an offense we take very seriously,” said U.S. Attorney Minkler. “Those who choose to commit such an act will be held accountable.”

"According to court documents," the statement continued, "Boucher and the victim are neighbors in Bowling Green, Kentucky."

"On November 3, 2017, the victim was mowing his yard while wearing headphones," it added. "Boucher allegedly witnessed the victim stack brush onto a pile near the victim’s property and 'had enough.' Boucher ran onto the victim’s property and tackled the victim."

"As a result of this assault, the victim suffered multiple fractured ribs and subsequently contracted and required medical attention for pneumonia," the statement explained. "Boucher admitted the assault but denied it was politically motivated."

Here's the punishment Boucher faces

The statement indicates that Boucher signed a plea deal, but it does not say what the deal is. If convicted, he faces 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Mystery motivation

The lack of a publicly announced motivation for the attack spurred many conspiracy theories, but the statement appears to indicate that Boucher was merely angry that Paul had stacked brush onto his property.

Rand Paul suffered with 6 broken bones because of the assault that consisted of Boucher tackling him from behind.