Abbott Pardons Daniel Perry Convicted of Murdering BLM Protester

TEXAS— On Thursday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a pardon for Daniel Perry, the former Army sergeant who was convicted of the 2020 murder of Black Lives Matter protester and Air Force veteran Garrett Foster. Perry has since been released from prison.

Perry was found guilty last year and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Immediately after his conviction, Governor Abbott voiced his desire to pardon Perry.

District Attorney José Garza of Travis County, where Perry was convicted, has stated that Governor Abbott’s decision to pardon Perry “made a mockery of our legal system.”

“Their actions are contrary to the law and demonstrate that there are two classes of people in this state where some lives matter and some lives do not,” Garza insisted. “They have sent a message to Garrett Foster’s family, to his partner, and to our community that his life does not matter.”

According to reports, on July 25th, 2020, Perry drove to Austin, Texas, where a group was protesting police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. Perry drove nearly 70 miles from his base in Fort Hood to the Austin protest.

While in his car, Perry encountered Foster, who was legally carrying a rifle. Perry claimed Foster pointed his rifle at him, which prompted him to shoot Foster with a handgun in self defense.

However, nobody saw Foster raise his rifle at Perry and prosecutors pointed out that he had a history of posting racially charged social media posts and sending racist text messages.

Now pardoned, Perry will be able to legally carry a gun again.