Happy Birthday, Sen. Paul!
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., received an early birthday present from his 19-year-old son, William Hilton Paul, over the weekend.
On Saturday morning, the younger Paul was arrested at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and charged with underage alcohol consumption, disorderly conduct and being intoxicated and disruptive after a flight from Lexington, Ky., to Charlotte, N.C., according to media reports. Sen. Paul’s 50th birthday was Monday.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Lt. Blake Hollar told the Charlotte Observer that the 19-year-old might have been served alcohol on the flight. US Airways, the carrier he flew on, denied that he was served alcohol on board.
Regardless, Paul was arrested and taken to the Mecklenburg County Jail, where he identified himself as the son of the senator. He was released Saturday evening under a $750 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.
The senator’s office called the event a private family matter in a statement released after the arrest.
“Sen. Paul is a national public figure and subject to scrutiny in the public arena. However, as many parents with teenagers would understand, his family should be afforded the privacy and respect they deserve in a situation such as this,” Paul Communications Director Moira Bagley said in the statement.