Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Seeks Pardon for Man Convicted in Murder of Black Lives Matter Protester

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he is “working as swiftly as Texas law allows” to pardon Daniel Perry, who was convicted Friday of murder in the fatal shooting of a protester at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.

Perry, an active-duty U.S. Army sergeant based in Texas at Fort Hood, was working as a driver for a ride-sharing company when he drove onto a street crowded with protesters on July 25, 2020, in Austin, Texas.

Garrett Foster, 28, was pushing his fiancee in a wheelchair during the protest when police say Perry’s car was surrounded by protesters.

Foster, who was carrying an AK-47-type rifle, approached Perry’s car when he was shot several times by Perry, according to police. {snip}

Perry’s attorneys argued at trial he had no choice but to shoot Foster for his own protection {snip}

Prosecutors argued that Perry could have driven away before firing.

Witnesses testified at the trial that Foster never raised his rifle at Perry, however, Perry told police that Foster did raise the rifle {snip}

Both of the men are white.

Abbott slammed both the jury’s decision to convict Perry and Travis County District Attorney José Garza for pursuing the case.

“Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney,” Abbott said in an online statement.

{snip}