Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was attacked by his next-door neighbor on Friday, and a motive remains unclear.

While some reports suggest the two were in a landscaping dispute, other neighbors have disputed that.

Paul tweeted on Wednesday that his injuries were more severe than he had thought.



The mystery surrounding Friday's attack on Republican Sen. Rand Paul is deepening as a motive remains elusive.

Some media reports have suggested that Rene Boucher, Paul's next-door neighbor of 17 years in Bowling Green, Kentucky, attacked Paul amid a landscaping dispute. But on Wednesday, Paul's chief strategist, Doug Stafford, tweeted a link to a Breitbart News article and a Washington Examiner story that cast doubt on those reports.

Some of Paul's neighbors told the outlets that reports of a landscaping dispute were "erroneous and unfounded."

"The Pauls are and always have been great neighbors and friends. They take pride in their property and maintain it accordingly," Travis Creed told Breitbart. "Rand has enjoyed working on and maintaining his lawn for as long as I have known him. He was attacked on his property for no apparent reason and suffered serious injury. That is the only fact known at this time."

Paul's injuries are also more severe than was reported over the weekend and earlier this week. On Wednesday, Paul tweeted that he a pleural effusion — a buildup of fluid around the lungs — and six broken ribs instead of five. His recovery is likely to take months.

Police have charged Boucher, 59, with fourth-degree assault, and an arrest warrant said he admitted to tackling Paul.

Jeff Jones, a registered nurse who worked with Boucher, told The Washington Post that Boucher's politics were "liberal" and that Boucher "was active on social media and said some negative things about the Republican agenda" leading some to suggest the attack was politically motivated.

But Boucher's lawyer said in a statement on Monday that the incident had "absolutely nothing to do with either's politics or political agendas" and described the dispute between the men as "trivial."

Stafford said the charge against Boucher involved "state and federal authorities," though he did not clarify why federal law enforcement would be involved.

Allan Smith contributed to this report.