Suspect caught in van ram of GOPers, as Donald Trump warns: ‘careful who you play with!’
THE motorist who rammed a Republican party voter registration tent has been caught as President Trump warned the driver “be careful who you play with.” Gregory William Loel Timm, 27, was identified as the maniac who narrowly missed six Trump 2020 campaign volunteers at a shopping center in Jacksonville, Florida. The driver got out of […]
THE motorist who rammed a Republican party voter registration tent has been caught as President Trump warned the driver “be careful who you play with.”
Gregory William Loel Timm, 27, was identified as the maniac who narrowly missed six Trump 2020 campaign volunteers at a shopping center in Jacksonville, Florida.
The driver got out of his vehicle in the parking lot of a Walmart Superstore, recorded the smashed tent on his phone, then flashed an obscene hand gesture and drove off, local station Fox 30 reports.
Timm has been charged with aggravated assault on a person 65 years of age or older, criminal mischief, and driving while driver’s license suspended, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Photos posted by the local Republican Party showed Trump-Pence placards and bumper stickers strewn around the parking lot near the toppled tent.
Another photo showed an older model brown-and-tan van driving away from the scene.
In response to the targeted attack, Donald Trump last night tweeted: “Law Enforcement has been notified. Be careful tough guys who you play with!”
Duval County GOP Chairman Dean Black said no one was injured but the voter-registration volunteers were “shaken up”.
He told First Coast News : “We are outraged by this senseless act of violence toward our great volunteers.
“The Republican Party of Duval County will not be intimidated by these cowards and we will not be silenced.”
“I call on every Republican in our great city to stand up, get involved and show these radicals that we will not be intimidated from exercising our constitutional rights.”
Volunteer Mark Alfieri, one of those nearly hit, told Fox 30: “Kind of out of the blue, a man approached us in a van, was waving at us, kind of a friendly demeanor, thought he was coming up to talk to us.
“Instead he accelerated his vehicle and ploughed right into our tent, our tables.
“After he ran over everything, he backed up, took out a cell phone, kind of recorded the damage, made some obscene gestures at us and then proceeded to leave the complex.”
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said of the “outrageous” attack: “The hate is toxic and dangerous.
“Thankfully no one was injured but certainly they are shaken after being targeted because they were registering voters.”
Republican senator for Florida Rick Scott tweeted: “This appears to be a politically motivated attack on hard-working volunteers in Duval County.
“Thankful that no one was hurt. @DuvalGOP will not be silenced or intimidated.”
Fellow senator Marco Rubio wrote: “Thanking God that no one was injured in today’s politically motivated attack against @DuvalGOP volunteers today.”
Lt Larry Gayle of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the driver could be charged with “interruption of the political process”.
He added: “We are investigating this as an aggravated assault. Several people were in the area and could have been seriously hurt… we are taking the situation very seriously.”
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Florida is a key battleground in this year’s presidential election.
Four years ago Trump edged out Hillary Clinton by a narrow margin.
In Duval County there were fewer than 6,000 votes between the candidates.
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