TX Gov. Abbott Pardons Army Sgt. Daniel Perry of Murder in 2020 Protest Shooting

Last updated on August 7th, 2024 at 04:29 pm

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has pardoned U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Perry of his murder conviction for fatally shooting an armed protester, U.S. Air Force veteran Garrett Foster, who approached Perry’s car during a July 2020 encounter.

“The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles conducted an exhaustive review of U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Perry’s personal history and the facts surrounding the July 2020 incident and recommended a Full Pardon and Restoration of Full Civil Rights of Citizenship,” Abbott announced on Thursday night. “Among the voluminous files reviewed by the Board, they considered information provided by the Travis County District Attorney, the full investigative report on Daniel Perry, plus a review of all the testimony provided at trial. 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. I thank the Board for its thorough investigation, and I approve their pardon recommendation.”

Perry, an Army soldier earning extra money as a ride-share driver, was out driving on the night of July 25, 2020, when he turned onto a street in Austin being blocked by demonstrators protesting against police brutality. Perry turned right from a red light before abruptly stopping as protesters blocked the way. Foster and several other protesters then approached Perry’s car, at which point Perry then shot at Foster and continued driving as the crowds of protesters scattered.

BLM PROTESTOR HIT IN DRIVE-BY SHOOTING IN AUSTIN, TX

LOOK HOW ONCE LIFE GETS REAL MOST OF THEM STOP PLAYING AND COMPLY WITH THE OFFICERS pic.twitter.com/9aXwLDRC1H

— 🌴 Josh Lekach 🌴 (@JoshLekach) July 26, 2020

In July 2021, nearly a year after the shooting, Travis County District Attorney José Garza brought charges against Perry for murder and aggravated assault and secured a grand jury indictment.

At trial, Perry’s defense team argued he only fired his weapon in lawful self-defense. The defense team contends that on the night of the encounter, as protesters surrounded Perry’s car, Foster began to raise a firearm, an AK-style rifle, at Perry’s car, at which point Perry drew his own handgun and shot Foster. Perry notified police of the shooting within minutes of driving away from the scene.

At trial, prosecutors argued Perry’s text messages and social media posts revealed a motive to kill protesters that predated the shooting. Austin Chronicle reported that among Perry’s alleged comments prosecutors presented was a text message stating, “I might have to kill a few people on my way to work, they are rioting outside my apartment complex.” Another message Perry allegedly sent in June of 2020, states, “I might go to Dallas to shoot looters.” In his various messages, Perry allegedly described scenarios in which he might potentially be able to justify shooting a protester as self-defense.

Perry’s defense attorney, Douglas O’Connell, argued that prosecutors were presenting the texts and social media posts out of context and that while he felt some of Perry’s comments were “frankly repugnant,” others were simply “dark humor,” PBS reported during the trial.

The trial jury ultimately convicted Perry last year on a murder charge but acquitted him on an aggravated assault charge.

Even before the judge sentenced Perry, Abbott had called for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to evaluate the case and consider providing a recommendation to pardon the convicted Army sergeant. Texas law states the governor can only issue a pardon for a state-level offense if the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles first recommends such action.

Shortly after his conviction, Perry’s defense team requested a new trial, arguing they were blocked from presenting certain evidence during the first trial, including witness accounts alleging Foster had intimidated other motorists during previous protest events prior to the fatal July 2020 shooting. Judge Clifford Brown denied Perry’s retrial request in May 2023 and sentenced Perry later that month to 25 years in prison.

On Thursday afternoon, approximately one year into his sentence, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a unanimous decision, recommending Abbott grant Perry a pardon. Abbott announced the pardon within hours of the decision, on Thursday evening.

In issuing his pardon proclamation, Abbott also accused the prosecution of withholding exculpatory evidence that would point to Perry’s innocence.

Garza responded by accusing the Republican governor and the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles of politicizing the case.

“The Board and the Governor have put their politics over justice and made a mockery of our legal system. They should be ashamed of themselves,” the district attorney said in a statement to the Texas Tribune.

Foster’s widowed common-law wife, Whitney Mitchell, also lamented the pardon decision. She also accused the governor of issuing the pardon out of animosity toward the political views Foster was promoting on the night of the fatal shooting.

“Daniel Perry texted his friends about plans to murder a protester he disagreed with. After a lengthy trial, with an abundance of evidence, 12 impartial Texans determined that he carried out that plan, and murdered my Garrett,” Mitchell told the Texas Tribune. “With this pardon, the Governor has desecrated the life of a murdered Texan and US Air Force veteran, and impugned that jury’s just verdict. He has declared that Texans who hold political views that are different from his — and different from those in power — can be killed in this State with impunity.”