Seattle Waterfront shooting suspect once drove van into Trump supporters' tent in Florida
Gregory Timm is charged with first-degree assault for shooting a man in a wheelchair Thursday afternoon near Seattle's Pier 55.
Author: Maddie White
Published: 10:12 PM PDT August 5, 2025
Updated: 10:12 PM PDT August 5, 2025
SEATTLE —
The man accused of shooting a wheelchair-bound veteran along Seattle’s waterfront now faces a felony assault charge — and it’s not the first time he’s made national headlines.
Seattle police say they arrested 32-year-old Gregory Timm after a shooting Thursday afternoon near the popular Alaskan Way boardwalk. Though officers found no prior convictions on his Washington record, Timm is the same man who, in 2020, drove a van through a tent of Trump supporters in Florida — an incident that caught the attention of President Donald Trump.
According to prosecutors, Timm approached the Seattle victim — described in court documents as an elderly man in a wheelchair wearing a military patch — and demanded proof of his veteran status. Witnesses said the victim had been asking for money. Timm allegedly ripped off the man’s patch, prompting the man to draw a knife and later a holstered airsoft gun. That’s when Timm pulled out a firearm and shot him in the chest, prosecutors say.
“It was very scary,” said Savannah Algeo, who witnessed the incident. “I hear a pop! People running, there was a lot of people running for sure.”
The victim was taken to the hospital in serious condition. Timm is being held on $750,000 bail.
“If you're the one who's the first aggressor who provokes an altercation, you lose the right to claim self-defense effectively under state law,” said Casey McNerthney, spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
In the Florida case, Timm was convicted in 2021 of criminal mischief after driving his van into a tent of Trump supporters in Jacksonville. No one was injured, but the act rattled those at the scene and prompted a response from Trump, who wrote on social media: “Be careful tough guys who you play with!”
In court, Timm explained his motive behind the Florida incident.
“I honestly felt it was almost my duty to say something,” he told the court. “The only reason this administration was getting away with these atrocious crimes is because we were rolling over and taking it.”
That case was classified as a second-degree misdemeanor. Whether the conviction can be introduced in the current Washington case depends on whether the Florida conviction still stands, McNerthney said.
“If it’s vacated, then it won’t be found because it’s no longer considered a conviction,” he said.
Timm is charged in King County with first-degree assault, a felony.
