Stomp victim Lauren Valle speaks: Attack was "premeditated"

The MoveOn worker who was attacked by Rand Paul supporters has now spoken out about the assault, claiming she was "injured," "in severe shock," and that she has no doubt that the attack was "premeditated."

She also vowed "further legal action."

Lauren Valle, who was dragged to the ground and had her head stepped on during a scuffle outside last night's Kentucky Senate debate, detailed the attack in a conference call with several reporters. She described it as being at least as bad as the footage suggests.

"My memory of it is sort of that of a traumatized person," she said. "I distinctly remember a blow to my head."

Some have suggested Valle tried to bait Paul into getting photographed with her, but she said she didn't get close enough for that to happen. She said she had been yelling out to "Dr. Paul" in the crowd, in order to get him to respond to her effort to give him an award from the fake company "Republicorps." But she added she never got a chance to get close to him because she was "targeted."

Valle said the attackers had identified her well in advance of the assault.

"They identified me as a MoveOn worker, and as someone they knew from prior campaign events," she said. "And so, about five minutes before Rand Paul showed up, they motioned to each other to start taking photographs of me." She added that they formed a "blockade" behind her.

"It was premeditated," she continued. "As soon as Rand Paul's car showed up they started to move in front of me."

I asked her why she was able to give subsequent interviews last night, if she'd been severely hurt. She pushed back, saying the full brunt of the pain hit her later.

"I was in severe shock," she said, adding that the pain in her head started in earnest "an hour and a half afterwards."

"I was certainly injured," she said. "If you have any questions about that, maybe watch it again."

Tim Profitt, Paul's Bourbon County coordinator, has admitted to being behind the attack, and the Paul campaign has disassociated itself with him.



UPDATE, 4:48 p.m.: To watch video of the attack, and for full coverage, go right here.

UPDATE, 6:22 p.m.: The Conway campaign is keeping up the pressure on Paul over the stomping.

