The Hill News

Kentucky Democrat Jack Conway's Senate campaign said Wednesday that his Republican opponent Rand Paul has not done enough to condemn a supporter's stomping of a liberal activist this week. 

Paul campaign volunteer Tim Profitt was seen helping drag to the ground Laura Valle, a 23-year-old activist affiliated with the group MoveOn.org, at a candidates debate in Lexington, Ky., Monday night. Video showed Profitt then stomping twice on the head of Valle.

Paul's campaign has since dismissed Profitt as Bourbon County campaign coordinator and barred him from future campaign events. It also issued a statement saying that "violence of any kind has no place in our civil discourse and we urge supporters on all sides to be civil to one another as tensions rise heading toward this very important election."

{mosads}But John Collins, a spokesman for Conway, told reporters on a conference call that was not enough.

"The Paul campaign's response to the assault Monday night was tepid at best, and what was most disturbing and appalling about his response was how it morphed," he said. "The Paul campaign has to answer for the actions of a whole series of supporters," some of whom he described as having a "mob, thuggish mentality."

The race between Conway and Paul has been one of the most watched Senate campaign's this cycle. Most polls show Conway trailing Paul, and the Democrats' campaign appears to be using the incident as part of their closing argument to Kentucky voters. 

Conway also issued a statement Tuesday, saying "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." But now, his campaign is taking its response one step further.

Even though Profitt was dismissed from the campaign, liberal blogs and activists railed against the Paul campaign Tuesday for its response to the incident.

Collins pointed to some of those same concerns. He accused Paul's campaign and Paul himself of making inconsistent comments on the incident, pointing out Profitt's comments that the incident was not as bad as it looked and that police were not quick enough to intervene. 

"Anyone who sees [the video] considers it laughable if it weren't so serious," Collins said.

Profitt has been ordered to appear in court so a judge can decide whether or not he should face assault charges.

The Conway campaign also said that Paul had not addressed two other men who were involved, and hosted another man, 60-year-old Lexington attorney Michael Grossman, who also claimed he was grabbed and shoved by a Paul supporter, but did not report the incident to police.

"We need to have the Paul campaign to answer some basic questions."

Collins also called on Paul to return the $2,500 in campaign donations he received from Profitt and a woman who, according to an FEC report, appears to be his wife.