Sandy MaloneJacksonville, FL – A Trump-hating man who drove a van through a Republican voter registration tent staffed by mostly elderly volunteers on Saturday said he did it because “someone had to take a stand.”
The incident occurred at about 3:50 p.m. on Feb. 8 in the parking lot of the Walmart Superstore located at Atlantic and Kernan Boulevards, WJXT reported.
Witnesses told police that a man driving a brown van drove through the voter registration tent, flipping the tent and upending tables and chairs, and narrowly missing some of the volunteers.
Afterwards, he stopped to film a cell phone video of his handiwork and then gave his victims the finger before he drove off, according to WJXT.
One of the victims captured a picture of the van and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office tracked down the suspect quickly.
The police report said that 27-year-old Gregory Timm told investigators that he had stopped to buy food and cigarettes at the Walmart when he saw the Republican voter registration tent, WJXT reported.
Timm told police that he purposely drove through the Republican setup because “someone had to take a stand,” WJXT reported.
The police report said he proudly showed investigators the videos he had filmed of the incident and said he was disappointed that his video cut out before “the good part” when he struck the tent.
Timm told investigators that he waited for there to be no people in front of the tent before he ran it down, but the police report said that his video showed otherwise, according to WJXT.
The report said that Timm told police that he doesn’t like President Donald Trump and that was part of why he wanted to destroy the tent.
While law enforcement officials have not officially labeled Timm’s attack “politically-motivated,” U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, both Republicans from Florida, did not hold back, WJXT reported.
Scott even went so far as to tweet that the local Republican Party “will not be silenced or intimidated. They will redouble their efforts to support strong Republicans in NE Florida and around the state!”
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry also called the attack political, WJXT reported.
“What’s clear is, this individual drove up to a tent and was clearly registering voters with Donald Trump’s name and attire around them. And drove a vehicle at volunteers that’s what we know, looks pretty political to me,” Curry said.
Timm was arrested just hours after he plowed through the voter registration tent, WJXT reported.
He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a person over 65 years old, criminal mischief, and driving without a license.