Despite losing in the Democrat Senate primary in 2020, defund-the-police advocate and former Kentucky state Rep. Charles Booker won his party's nomination in May and is presently running against Republican Sen. Rand Paul in the November election. On Tuesday, Booker accused Paul of employing "dangerous and dishonest rhetoric" in a new campaign ad posted to social media earlier this week. The ad denounced by Booker highlights ties between the Democrat's campaign and persons who have allegedly committed or celebrated political violence.

The Republican Party of Kentucky rallied behind Paul and his message, stating on Monday, "Charles Booker and his far-left allies espouse dangerous views and tactics. ... It is beyond time for him and his supporters to apologize for joking about the serious attack that left Senator Paul with six broken ribs."

Sen. Paul's ad and Democrat violence

The Paul campaign ad stated that "the Charles Booker campaign has repeatedly embraced people who celebrate and glorify the violent attacks against Senator Paul."

\u201cCivil debate is an admired quality in a Republic but justifying, mocking, or celebrating violence, as documented in this video of Charles Booker and his allies, should be rejected.\u201d

— Rand Paul (@Rand Paul) 1664833333

The ad alleged that Kevin Mays, a Brooker campaign volunteer, tweeted a "graphic doctored image" of Paul with a broken neck and published the senator's home address.

The ad also claimed that Amy Jean, who has been featured in at least one Brooker campaign ad, expressed her belief that the man who sent Paul to the emergency room was a "hero" whom she often thought about.

In 2017, Amy Jean's "hero," Rene Boucher, assaulted Paul, breaking the senator's ribs and leaving Paul with a "significant injury" that he now suffers "lifelong symptoms from." Boucher pled guilty to assault charges.

In the same year, Paul was among those who survived a shooting in which Republicans practicing for a charity baseball game were targeted. The leftist gunman, James Hodgkinson, was a supporter of Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.). He wounded Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and three others.

In 2020, an enraged mob of BLM activists attacked Paul and his wife, Kelley Ashby Paul, as they attempted to return to their hotel after the conclusion of the Republican National Convention. The mob that swarmed the Pauls chanted, "No justice, no peace," and "Say her name, Breonna Taylor."

Paul, endorsed by the Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police this week, later noted that he was the author of the federal legislation to prohibit police officers from using no-knock warrants like the one that led to the shooting of Taylor. "The irony is lost on these idiots that they're trying to kill the person who's actually trying to get rid of no-knock raids."

Republican Sen. Rand Paul swarmed by protesters after Trump speech youtu.be

After the ordeal, Paul told "Fox and Friends," "We can't let our cities be taken over by these marauders and thugs."

The Paul campaign's ad pointed out that Charles Booker campaigned with accused assassin Quintez Brown, the BLM activist who was charged earlier this year with the attempted assassination of Louisville, Kentucky, mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg. According to police, Brown fired multiple shots at Greenberg as the mayoral candidate exited his campaign headquarters. One bullet grazed Greenberg's shirt.

\u201cMy team and I are fortunately all safe. We are all with LMPD now. I will provide an update as soon as possible. Thank you for the outpouring of support.\u201d

— Craig Greenberg (@Craig Greenberg) 1644857158

The Paul campaign ad concluded by saying, "It's clear: Charles Booker doesn't believe in civil discourse, only violence."

Booker's response

Booker responded to the ad, suggesting it "grossly lies about me and, in a very sinister way, attacks several Kentucky citizens by name."

He added, "Neither I, nor my campaign, have ever endorsed violence against any political candidate. It is despicable for Rand Paul to even insinuate that."

In an advertisement entitled "Pain of our Past" posted to YouTube on June 1, Charles Booker put a noose around his neck and insinuated that a vote for Paul was tantamount to a tightening of the noose.

Booker alluded to the historic use of lynching as a "tool of terror" and as a means of killing "hopes of freedom" and stated that Paul stands to "forever hold us back." The Hill reported that in the ad, after Booker criticized Paul, he said, "The choice couldn't be clearer," at which time the "sounds of a tightening rope can be heard."

Pain of our Past youtu.be

In criticizing the Paul campaign's Monday ad, Booker claimed that "Rand Paul has used racially charged dog whistles throughout his campaign to paint a violent picture of me."

Notwithstanding Booker's recent and past accusations that Paul is racist, the AP reported that during his Senate tenure, Paul has frequently visited mostly black neighborhoods, supporting criminal justice reforms, anti-violence efforts, and education initiatives.

Booker, critical of the rhetoric employed by Paul's campaign, previously stated, "Rand Paul has built a career out of weaponizing hate and hiding his hand." He suggested further that Paul was a "privileged, spoiled brat."

Defunding the police

When Booker announced his intention to run again last year, Paul said he didn't think that "defunding the police and forcing taxpayers to pay for reparations will be very popular in Kentucky."

J. McCauley Brown, chair of the Kentucky Republican Party, concurred, suggesting, "Charles Booker's extremist agenda has zero chance with Kentucky voters. He supports the radical socialist policies of D.C. Democrats like defunding the police, the Green New Deal and forcing taxpayers to pay for reparations."

Universal basic income and so-called racial justice are two pushes that occupy much of Booker's focus. The latter is what prompted him to take part in numerous identitarian Marxist protests. A spokesman for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which endorsed Booker during his failed 2020 campaign, lauded Booker for showing up at BLM protests and for "being engaged in the movement for Black lives."

Booker told the Root that he supported defunding the police and that the legal system was "woven with racism." According to Booker, police saw black Americans as deadly weapons, not as human beings. He proposed reallocating police funding to other services in the hope bolstering "public safety."

Earlier this year, Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy indicated Paul led Booker in the polls by 15 points.