JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The trial for the man accused of deliberately driving his van into a Jacksonville GOP voter registration tent began Wednesday.
The incident happened in February 2020 in a parking lot near the corner of Atlantic and Kernan boulevards. Gregory Timm was charged with two counts of aggravated assault on someone 65 or older and criminal mischief, which his attorney said he’s admitted to.
Videos that the man took of himself were shown in court Wednesday. They show Timm parked and then driving into the tent.
Defense attorneys say Timm can be heard in the video saying, “I’m waiting for them to walk away,” and that he never had intent to hurt anyone.
State prosecutors say the group was registering people to vote while campaigning for then-President Donald Trump and that the defendant did not like that.
According to JSO investigators, Timm admitted to police he purposefully drove into the tent because “someone had to take a stand.”
The video that Timm took shows the people who testified in court Wednesday, and before the tent was struck, the video cuts off. According to the police report, Timm said he was upset that the video ended before “the good part.”
Laura Collins was first to take the stand. She said she saw Timm waving and smiling right before it all unfolded.
“I thought it was someone friendly who was coming to speak with us then all of a sudden it was a threat,” Collins said.
The criminal mischief charge that Timm’s attorney said his client has admitted to carries a 60-day jail sentence. No injuries were reported in the incident.