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Texas Governor Gregg Abbott said he intends to pardon U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Perry who was convicted of murder for shooting Garrett Foster at a Black Lives Matter protest.

The day after a Texas jury convicted U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Perry of murder for shooting and killing a Black Lives Matter protestor, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott tweeted his intentions to pardon Perry.

Perry, 35, was convicted of murder on Friday by a jury for shooting Foster at a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin in 2020. On Saturday, Abbott tweeted that he was “working as swiftly as Texas law allows” in order to secure a pardon for Perry.

Gov. Gregg Abbott ready to pardon convicted killer

Perry was working as an Uber driver in downtown Austin the night of Foster’s murder. He turned onto a crowded street filled with Black Lives Matter protestors where he interacted with Foster. Both men were legally carrying guns, Perry a handgun and Foster an AK-47.

The only problem for Perry, Foster never aimed his weapon at him.

“I didn’t want to give him a chance to aim at me, ya know,” Perry told police during an interrogation after the shooting.

Perry claimed he acted in self-defense as Foster approached his car with an assault-style rifle.

(Garrett Foster with fiancée Whitney Mitchell, who was with Foster in Austin the night he was shot and killed by U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Perry) gregg abbott
Garrett Foster with fiancée Whitney Mitchell, who was with Foster in Austin the night he was shot and killed by U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Perry. (Austin American-Statesman)

“It is perfectly okay to feel sorry for Garrett Foster, but Garrett Foster made a choice that night. He came ready for a war, not a protest,” Perry’s defense said in closing.

Those words ring hollow after the national case of Kyle Rittenhouse, who was 17-years-old when he brought an AR-15 across state lines to Kenosha, Wisconsin and ended the night by killing two men and wounding a third but was ultimately acquitted of all charges.

The prosecution in Perry’s case argued that Perry initiated the encounter by running a red light turning onto the crowded street. Perry made posts on social media earlier in the day about his displeasure with protestors and suggested shooting them.

Perry faces life in prison for his conviction, and a sentencing hearing is scheduled for later this week. 

Mike Creef is a fighter for equality and justice for all. Growing up bi-racial (Jamaican-American) on the east coast allowed him to experience many different cultures and beliefs that helped give him a...