A volunteer for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul faces a fourth-degree assault charge after the man stepped on the head of a liberal activist when she tried to pull a political stunt on Paul Monday evening.

Police said Tuesday that a criminal summons would be served on Timothy Profitt, 53, of Bourbon County.

Profitt told the Herald-Leader that he was concerned the woman was trying to attack Paul and acted only to subdue her.

"The way she went after him it looked like something bad was getting ready to happen," Profitt said.

However, the activist with MoveOn.org, Lauren L. Valle, 23, said her rough treatment by Paul supporters was premeditated.

Several Paul supporters got behind her just before the incident, and another MoveOn.org volunteer heard one say, "We are here to do crowd control (and) we might have to take someone out," Valle told the Huffington Post, a liberal blog.

For his part, Paul's campaign issued a statement condemning Profitt's actions — without naming him — and saying it had cut ties with him.

"Whatever the perceived provocation, any level of aggression or violence is deplorable and will not be tolerated by our campaign," the statement said.

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