Information is unfolding as to the motive behind the attack on Senator Rand Paul by his neighbor, Rene Boucher, and according to Boucher’s lawyer, it wasn’t over politics.

According to the police report, Boucher attacked Paul from behind on Friday while the Kentucky Senator was mowing his grass. Boucher reportedly tackled Paul to the ground, causing cuts to his face, as well as a “potential rib injury” which ended up being five fractured ribs.

https://twitter.com/samstein/status/927632780799995905

Information later came out that Boucher was something akin to Rand Paul’s opposite in terms of politics. Boucher was reportedly a socialist, while Rand Paul is a noted conservative libertarian. Speculation that the attack was politically motivated began circulating around the internet.

However, according to Boucher’s lawyer, the attack had nothing to do with politics, and instead was over something “most people would regard as trivial.”

According to NBC News, the dispute could have been over a property line that Boucher and Paul have been disputing about for 17 years. However, NBC News also reported that due to Boucher’s socialist background, the two have had major disputes over Paul’s father, Ron Paul, and his politics for some time.

It would appear Boucher’s lawyer is going to go with the property line defense because, as Twitter user and law blogger Popehat pointed out, an attack on political grounds could warrant serious legal consequences.

Follow-up on assault on Sen. Paul — folks are asking whether it's a federal crime because he's a Senator. /1

— AntifaProvocateurHat (@Popehat) November 6, 2017

/2 The answer is probably not unless the assault was in the course of his Senatorial duties or because of his status as a Senator.

— AntifaProvocateurHat (@Popehat) November 6, 2017

/3 Take 18 USC 111, for instance, which talks about assault on feds in the course of or because of their duties https://t.co/8o6h6DBrgM

— AntifaProvocateurHat (@Popehat) November 6, 2017

/4 The parallel is 18 USC 1114, which has the same in the course of/because of language https://t.co/jYckNNEZ6v

— AntifaProvocateurHat (@Popehat) November 6, 2017

/5 So: if a guy in a bar is a dick and you throw a punch and he turns out to be a Senator or Congressman that's not a federal crime

— AntifaProvocateurHat (@Popehat) November 6, 2017

/6 On the other hand, if Sen. Paul's crazy neighbor went after him because of his votes or official stances, that would be a federal crime.

— AntifaProvocateurHat (@Popehat) November 6, 2017

In summary, if Boucher attacked Paul because he didn’t like Paul for mowing grass on what he believes is his property, it’s a matter for the state of Kentucky. However, if Boucher punched Paul because he doesn’t like Paul’s actions in the line of his duty as a Senator, Boucher may wind up in prison for a while.

So while Boucher’s attack may very well have been political, his lawyer is going to do what he can to make this about a property dispute, despite reports from NBC saying the two men hadn’t spoken in several years.