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U.S. Sen. Rand Paul was awarded more than $580,000 in damages and medical expenses on Wednesday in his lawsuit against the neighbor who tackled him and broke several of his ribs in a dispute over lawn maintenance.

A jury in Bowling Green, Kentucky, deliberated less than two hours before delivering the award to the Republican lawmaker who had been attacked while doing yard work at his Kentucky home.

Paul had testified during the three-day trial that he feared for his life as he struggled to breathe after Rene Boucher, an anesthesiologist by trade, slammed into him in their upscale Bowling Green neighborhood in late 2017.

The jury awarded $375,000 in punitive damages and $200,000 for pain and suffering, plus $7,834 for medical expenses.

Afterward, Paul said in a statement that he hoped the verdict would send a "clear message that violence is not the answer anytime, anywhere."

Boucher's attorney, Matt Baker, said they would appeal.

"We all expected that Sen. Paul would get a verdict in his favor," Baker said. "This far exceeds anything that we were expecting."

The trial included testimony from doctors as well as other who live in the neighborhood, but the most riveting testimony came from the longtime neighbors Paul and Boucher. Paul, a former GOP presidential hopeful, told the jury Monday that immediately after the attack, "the thought crossed my mind that I may never get up from this lawn again."

An apologetic Boucher acknowledged he wasn't thinking rationally and called it "two minutes of my life I wish I could take back." Paul showed no outward emotion, sitting between his lawyer and his wife in the courtroom, as Boucher recounted the attack.

In his lawsuit, Paul sought up to $500,000 in compensatory damages and up to $1 million in punitive damages. Baker conceded during the trial that a "reasonable award" might be in order for Paul's pain and suffering but said no punitive damages should be awarded. Baker said that Paul had resumed his "customary lifestyle" that includes golf and a skiing excursion.

After the verdict, Baker said "multiple issues" will come up during their appeal. Asked if Boucher has the financial resources to pay the damages, the attorney replied: "We're going to talk about that."

Boucher has already served a 30-day prison sentence after pleading guilty to assaulting a member of Congress. Federal prosecutors have appealed, saying 21 months would have been appropriate. Boucher also paid a $10,000 fine and served 100 hours of community service in the criminal case.

Both Paul and Boucher recounted with great detail their accounts of the attack.

Paul testified that he got off his riding mower to pick up a stick and was straightening up when Boucher hit him from behind with such force that both flew through the air 5 or 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters). He said he was wearing noise-canceling headphones and didn't hear Boucher coming toward him.

For a moment, Paul said, he had a flashback to the 2017 shooting at a baseball field when members of Congress were practicing for a game. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana suffered serious injuries in that shooting.

The attack in Paul's yard was motivated by lawn care, not politics.

Boucher told the jury that he attacked Paul after watching the senator begin forming a brush pile near their property line.

The day before the attack, Boucher said, he had burned another brush pile that Paul had created near the boundary. He doused that pile with gasoline and set it on fire, Boucher said. An explosion burned his face, neck and arms, and Boucher said he was still in severe pain when he attacked Paul the next day. Boucher testified he had hauled away previous brush piles accumulated by Paul without asking the senator.

Boucher testified that he tried to talk to Paul about his lawn maintenance concerns, but was rebuffed. Paul maintained in his testimony that he kept any brush pile on his own property.

Paul said after the verdict that people can hold different views whether it's on politics, religion or "day to day matters. It's never OK to turn those disagreements into violent, aggressive behavior. I hope that's the message from today."

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Rand Paul awarded more than $580K after neighbor's attack

(Newser) The trial on Rand Paul's lawsuit against the neighbor who attacked him as he did yard work is in its second day Tuesday, the AP reports, with the radiologist who saw the senator after the 2017 attack testifying in the Kentucky courtroom that Paul was walking with a "grandmother shuffle" after the incident. But Monday's testimony, from Paul himself, was a bit more dramatic: After Rene Boucher hit him with a blindside tackle after he got off his riding mower, both men flew 5 to 10 feet through the air, Paul said. "At this point, I thought, 'I can't breathe,'" he continued. "'If I do nothing, this may be the last breath I ever take, because whoever is doing this isn't stopping.' And I really thought if I got another blow to my back, I wasn't going to survive. And so really I did think I could die at that point. The thought crossed my mind that I may never get up from this lawn again."

Paul added that he had a flashback to the shooting at a baseball field during a Republican Congressional team practice that had taken place earlier that year, the AP reports. Paul, who suffered six broken ribs and a punctured lung, is seeking up to $500,000 in compensatory damages and up to $1 million in punitive damages; he says his mobility is limited, his ribs will never be the same, and he is at higher risk for a punctured organ if he were to fall or get hit again. But a lawyer for Boucher, who pleaded guilty to assaulting a member of Congress, said no punitive damages should be awarded. He insisted Paul has resumed his "customary lifestyle," including playing in a congressional baseball game and golfing with the president, and pointed out the condition of Paul's yard, which Boucher has cited as the reason for his attack. He accused Paul of stacking his debris near their property line. The jury is expected to visit the yard during the trial, Roll Call reports. (Read more Rand Paul stories.)

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Rand Paul on Neighbor's Attack: 'I Did Think I Could Die'

On Thursday, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul became the first Republican in the upper chamber of Congress to oppose GOP-backed bills targeting the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Writing in The American Conservative amid the ongoing government shutdown, Paul said that as much as he opposed boycotting Israel, he opposed using government to limit boycotts more.

I strongly oppose any legislation that attempts to ban boycotts or ban people who support boycotts from participating in our government or working for our government, Paul said.

Twice this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has tried to advance a bill that would codify into law the $38 billion in defense assistance over ten years former President Barack Obama promised Israel. The bill would also create federal laws that would protect from lawsuits states that pass laws banning business with Israel boycotters. Each time, Democrats filibustered the bill. McConnell was set Friday to try a third time.

Democrats say they dont want to move on any legislation until government reopens. A substantial number in their ranks also oppose legislation targeting boycotters on free speech grounds, however much they otherwise oppose the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel.

An argument this week, advanced by McConnell and the bills main sponsor, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is that Democrats are in fact soft on BDS, and fear being exposed in a floor vote. Paul may have just crippled that argument.

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Rand Paul becomes first GOP senator to oppose anti-BDS bills ...

Senator Rand Paul has dismissed the seriousness of alleged federal campaign finance crimes committed by President Donald Trump, arguing that the laws regarding these crimes are incredibly complicated and the penalties should be reduced.

The Republican congressman from Kentucky appeared on NBC News Sunday morning television program Meet the Press to discuss the allegations against Trump as well as other recent issues surrounding the president. On Friday, a sentencing memo for Trumps ex-lawyer Michael Cohen issued by federal prosecutors implicated the president for leading a criminal conspiracy, which involved paying off Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal using campaign funds.

Paul told host Chuck Todd that he didnt believe such violations should be treated so harshly, and should just be punished with fines.

There are thousands and thousands of rules, its incredibly complicated, campaign finance, he said, arguing that criminal penalties are not the best way to address such violations. He said he personally thinks that the punishment shouldnt be jail time, it ought to be a fine.

It just like a lot of other things weve done in Washington, Paul continued. Weve overcriminalized campaign finance.

Todd then pressed Paul about allegations that Cohen had circulated his false Congressional testimony in advance, suggesting that the president was aware that he would lie. The Senator asked for clarification about what exactly Cohen lied about, to which Todd pointed to the Trump Tower Moscow project.

I guess I dont quite understand it, Paul responded. I dont know whats illegal about trying to build a hotel in Russia I see no problem with someone running for president trying to build a hotel somewhere, he said. The senator pointed out that it would be different if the presidential candidate was offering something in exchange for approval of such a project. I havent heard any evidence of that, he said.

Todd then pressed Paul to explain why Cohens and Trumps stories about the project have changed in regards to the project, asking why someone would lie if they had nothing to hide. The senator responded by alleging prosecutorial abuse, suggesting that the probe pushed Cohen to pin dirt on the president.

President Donald Trump, right, acknowledges Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), left, prior to signing H.J. Res. 38, disapproving the rule submitted by the US Department of the Interior known as the Stream Protection Rule in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on February 16, 2017 in Washington, DC Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images

Maybe thats because the prosecutor is pressuring him, saying: Well, if you dont give us something on Trump, guess what, you get twenty years. If you give us something on Trump, you get four years, Paul said. I think were trying to make and find a crime, he argued.

Despite Pauls skepticism about the the accusations against Trump, other politicians and analysts disagree. Representative Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, told CBS News Face the Nation on Sunday that Trump may face the real prospect of jail time.

Until now, you had two different charges, allegations, whatever you want to call them, Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler of New York, the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a Saturday interview with The New York Times . One was collusion with the Russians. One was obstruction of justice and all that entails. And now you have a third that the president was at the center of a massive fraud against the American people.

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Rand Paul defends Trump, says campaign finance is "incredibly ...

Incoming Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) publishedan op-ed on Tuesday, criticizing President Donald Trump.

Sen. Paul quickly took to Twitter on Wednesday, calling Romney a Big Government Republican.

Breitbart Newss Kristina Wong asked Sen. Paul if he thinks Romney will plan to run to challenge President Trump in 2020 or if he will endorse Trump for president.

Sen. Paul told Breitbart News he thinks there remains no appetite for a Romney presidential campaign in 2020. Paul emphasized that Trump won many traditionally Democrat states, while Romney could not win any of these states.

I think when you look back at presidential electoral politics, what was extraordinary about Trumps run was that he won Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and no Republican has done that, and that includes Mitt Romney, Paul told Breitbart News.

Romney lostthe 2012 presidential election to former President Barack Obama by more than 100 electoral votes.

I think Trumps victory was an extraordinary one, and he did it by being, frankly, different, not being a run-of-the-mill establishment Republican. I dont think theres an appetite for a Romney run in the Republican party, nor do I think Mitt Romney-style big government establishment Republicanism is frankly popular enough to win in a general election, Paul continued.

During the press conference, Sen. Paul also contended that Romneys attack on Trump is bad for the Republican party and will make it difficult to get things done in the Senate.

The Kentucky conservative also stated that Romneys sentiment about the president does not represent Utah very well.

Further, Paul said Romneys opinion of Trump serves as a minority opinion in the Senate Republican conference.

I think youll find a vast majority [of GOP senators] will have wished he hadnt said it, Paul added.

Sen. Paul said that when he differs with the president on policy, he does not resort to attacking his character. Paul explained that although he may disagree with the president on tariffs, he will champion the presidents moves on tax cuts, as well as his decision to withdraw American troops from Syria.

Other prominent Republicans also attacked Romney in the wake of hisWashington Postop-ed.

Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, Romneys niece, criticizedthe Utah senator in a tweet on Wednesday.

POTUS is attacked and obstructed by the MSM media and Democrats 24/7. For an incoming Republican freshman senator to attack @realdonaldtrump as their first act feeds into what the Democrats and media want and is disappointing and unproductive, McDaniel tweeted:

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Rand Paul: No Republican Appetite for a Romney 2020 ...