Texas Governor Greg Abbott pardoned a man Thursday who had been convicted of shooting and killing a protester at a 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstration.
After a year-long investigation into the case, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended that Daniel Perry be pardoned on Thursday, a decision which Gov. Abbott immediately approved.
In May 2023, Perry was found guilty of murdering Garrett Foster, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
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Abbott released a statement blasting the prosecutors in the case and portraying his decision as “justice” following the 2020 protest movement.
“Americans across the country have been watching this case in Texas and praying for justice after BLM riots terrorized the nation in 2020,” he wrote.
“Our right to self-defense is enshrined in the Constitution,” Abbott added. “Soros-backed prosecutors like Jose Garza do not get to pick and choose the rights we have as Americans, and I am relieved that justice has prevailed.”
Thursday’s move, however, isn’t exactly surprising—before Perry was even sentenced Abbott began pushing for a pardon.
“I look forward to approving the Board’s pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk,” Abbott said in a statement in April 2023, citing Texas’ “Stand Your Ground” laws.
Perry’s attorneys claimed he was acting in self defense, as Foster was carrying a semi-automatic rifle during that fateful demonstration in Austin in 2020.
Although Perry testified that Foster pointed the gun at him, no witnesses corroborated this claim, and even Perry originally told police “I believe[d] he was going to aim at me. I didn’t want to give him a chance to aim at me.”
Prosecutors were able to demonstrate that Perry is a self-declared racist, who shared white supremacist memes, and sent messages saying he wanted to shoot BLM protesters.
Abbott’s proclamation took aim at Travis County District Attorney José Garza for prioritizing “reducing access to guns” over citizens rights under “Stand Your Ground.” He also accused Garza of directing the lead detective in Perry’s case to withhold “exculpatory evidence.”
