Paul, Conway condemn stomping

Rivals Rand Paul and Jack Conway on Tuesday condemned the actions of several Paul supporters who attacked a volunteer for the liberal MoveOn.org before the latest Kentucky senatorial debate.

A TV news crew captured footage of a Paul supporter stepping on the head of the volunteer Monday night in a parking lot outside the venue for the debate in Lexington. And the video of the incident went viral overnight.


"The Paul for Senate campaign is extremely disappointed in and condemns the actions of a supporter last night outside the KET debate. Whatever the perceived provocation, any level of aggression or violence is deplorable, and will not be tolerated by our campaign," Republican Paul's campaign said Tuesday in its second statement since the incident.

"The Paul campaign has disassociated itself from the volunteer who took part in this incident, and once again urges all activists – on both sides – to remember that their political passions should never manifest themselves in physical altercations of any kind."

The Paul campaign's first statement came just after midnight and only acknowledged "supporters of both sides," without distancing the campaign from the Paul booster who was caught stepping on the MoveOn volunteer.

The Conway campaign released a similar statement earlier, calling for “steps” to be taken to prevent that sort of “thuggish” behavior between now and the Nov. 2 elections.

“I was shocked to see video footage of a Rand Paul supporter stomping the head of a woman outside the debate last night,” said Conway, a Democrat. “We can disagree on issues – and I don’t know what preceded the incident – but physical violence by a man against a woman must never be tolerated. It is my hope that steps have been taken to ensure this kind of thuggish behavior never happens again in this campaign."

Also on Tuesday, Lexington police identified the suspect and issued a criminal summons to Tim Profitt, a county coordinator for the Paul campaign. And Profitt apologized in a statement to The Associated Press, claiming he felt Paul may have been in danger at the time.

"I'm sorry that it came to that, and I apologize if it appeared overly forceful, but I was concerned about Rand's safety," Profitt said.

Just minutes before the candidates were slated to face off Monday, MoveOn.org representative Lauren Valle was walking through the crowd of Paul supporters with a sign when she was grabbed by several men, one of whom pulled off her blond wig while another pushed her to the curb and stomped on her head.

“These supporters were not very nice to me and my message, which is the same as everyone else – I just wanted to get out here with a sign, but I got my head stepped on," Valle told a reporter from Louisville’s Fox 41, trying to regain her breath. “I have a bit of a headache.”

The news crew posted the graphic footage of the attack on Valle, who was attempting to give Paul a mock award from “RepubliCorp,” a MoveOn initiative that highlights corporate giving to Republican candidates.

Valle told MoveOn officials that she sustained a concussion and sprained shoulder during the attack and told the Louisville Courier Journal Tuesday morning that she was sore and swollen.

“I think that this is an extreme example of the kinds of sentiments that people are feeling in many races across the country,” Valle said. “I think that tension is incredibly high.”