Anti-Trump Seattle-area man sentenced for shooting wheelchair-bound vet

Gregory William Timm, 33, was sentenced Friday by King County Superior Court Judge Karen Donohue to 42 months behind bars for the July 31, 2025, shooting of Harold Powell, a 68-year-old amputee and US Navy veteran who uses a wheelchair. Powell survived the shooting and was present in court. Donohue called the shooting a “completely senseless act.”

“It’s amazing that nobody else was hurt or that the scene did not become more chaotic than it was,” the judge said.

A jury previously convicted Timm of second-degree assault with a firearm enhancement and third-degree theft for taking Powell’s military patch. According to court documents obtained by The Ari hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, the incident began when Timm approached Powell, who was busking along the crowded Seattle waterfront, and accused him of “stolen valor.” Timm demanded proof of Powell’s military service, then took the veteran’s military patch and taunted him. After provoking a response, Timm pulled a handgun and shot Powell in the chest.

Prosecutors emphasized that Timm initiated the confrontation, a key factor that undermined any claim of self-defense under Washington law.

The Seattle shooting was not Timm’s first politically charged act. In 2020, he drew national attention after driving a van into a tent of Trump supporters at a voter registration event in Jacksonville, Florida. He later described the act as a “prank” and claimed he felt it was his “duty” to act against the Trump administration. He was convicted of criminal mischief in that case.

Prosecutors in the Seattle case pointed to that prior incident as evidence of a pattern of provocative, confrontational behavior, noting it showed “terrible judgment for initiating provocative behavior.”

Under Washington law, Timm faced a sentencing range of 39 to 45 months, driven largely by a mandatory 36-month firearm enhancement. Prosecutors asked for a 42-month sentence, and the judge agreed.