Army Sgt. convicted of murdering BLM protestor; Abbott intends to pardon

AUSTIN, Texas (KEYE) — Daniel Perry, a U.S. Army sergeant, was found guilty of murdering Garrett Foster, a Black Lives Matter protestor, during a 2020 incident by a Texas jury Friday.

In response, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, announced Saturday he was looking into pardoning Perry, who faces up to a life in prison for his crime (his sentencing is yet to occur).

In a post shared on Twitter, Abbott invoked Texan "Stand Your Ground" law as basis for the pardon, which he said were "strong" and could not be "nullified by a jury or progressive District Attorney."

Unlike the President or some other states, the Texas Constitution limits the Governor's pardon authority to only act on a recommendation by the Board of Pardons and Paroles," Abbott wrote. "Texas law DOES allow the Governor to request the Board of Pardons and Paroles to determine if a person should be granted a pardon. I have made that request and instructed the Board to expedite its review.

"I look forward to approving the Board's pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk," he added.

Abbott also took another shot at so-called 'rogue DAs' in his post, echoing language increasingly used by Texas Republicans to criticize elected District or County Attorneys of soft-on-crime policies that are contributing to rising crime rates, as well as being selective in their prosecutions of certain crimes. "Unfortunately, certain Texas prosecutors have joined a trend of adopting internal policies, refusing to prosecute particular laws," state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-District 17, said in a Senate committee hearing in March.

Garrett Foster was shot and killed by Perry during a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin in the summer of 2020.

Perry was in a vehicle when he drove up to the marching protesters. The prosecution argued that Perry provoked the incident by running a red light and presented evidence that refuted the claim of a crowd-swarming Perry. They also highlighted Perry's social media posts and texts, which expressed anger towards protestors and discussed the possibility of shooting them. The defense, on the other hand, argued that Perry acted in self-defense.

During the closing arguments, the prosecution stated, "Garrett Foster had every right to go up to him and see what the heck was going on. And he had every right to do it with a deadly weapon, his rifle, because [Perry] was in a deadly weapon, his car.

The defense countered by saying, "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."

Foster was carrying an AK-47 rifle at the time he went over to inspect Perry's car; Perry was carrying a revolver in the vehicle while he was working that day as a rideshare driver.

The jury began deliberations Thursday around 1 p.m. and the next day found Perry guilty of murder while acquitting him of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.