Duval County

Ex-bandmate of man accused of targeting GOP tent: ‘He just wanted the attention’

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local man who said he was bandmates with the man accused of plowing through a voter registration tent says that it was only a matter of time before something like this happened.

In an exclusive interview with Action News Jax, Steven Easter said up until about the fall of 2018, he spent every day with Gregory Timm, 27, his then-drummer.

RELATED: Man accused of running into voter registration tent in Jacksonville told police he does not like Donald Trump

“I do remember the day he bought that van, which is really ironic. If I would have seen that van before everyone else, I probably would have called it in,” Easter said.

At one time, Easter said he envisioned that van as his band's transportation from show to show.

But Jacksonville police said on Saturday, Timm used it to plow through a Republican voter registration tent.

Thankfully, no one was hurt.

“I was dumbfounded,” Easter said. “That could’ve been my grandmother. That’s not cool.” Easter shared a picture of him and Timm with Action News Jax.

Easter also showed us a music video shot in St. Augustine, that he said featured Timm.

“I literally spent every day with him for, like, a year and a half,” Easter said.

After the attack, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Timm told police he does not like President Donald Trump, and he did this because, ‘someone had to take a stand.’

“He wasn’t a political person, and when it did come down to being political, he hated Hillary Clinton during the elections, which I thought was weird, because if he hated Hillary Clinton during the elections, why is he running his van through a Trump (tent)?” Easter said.

Easter said he last talked to Timm in August 2018.

After two years, he said he removed Timm from the band for his attitude and outlook. “I parted ways with him because he had a lot of xenophobic slurs that would fly out of his mouth, he would creep on women, and it got to the point where as a human, I can only can have so much tolerance.” Easter said that was on display Saturday.

“I believe he just wanted the attention, 100%,” Easter said.

Timm faces multiple charges, including two felonies, and is being held on more than a half a million dollars in bond.