A jury found Daniel Perry to be guilty of murder after killing Black Lives Matter protester Garrett Foster whilst being an Uber driver in Downtown Austin. Jurors were not convinced that Perry shot his AK-47 rifle out of self-defence.
Foster attended an Austin protest on July 25 while Perry was downtown driving for Uber. According to police, Perry stopped his car and honked at people protesting while they walked through the street, blocks from the state Capitol. Seconds later, he drove his car into the crowd, police said.
Foster, who was a 28-year-old white man and an Air Force veteran, had been seen openly carrying an AK-47 rifle at the time, which is legal. There are conflicting accounts as to whether Foster raised the rifle to the driver first — but seconds later Perry, who was also legally armed, shot and killed Foster and fled the area, police said. He called the police and reported what happened, claiming he shot in self defense after Foster aimed his weapon at him. Perry is also a white man.
In court, prosecutors brought up Facebook messages that Perry sent prior to Foster’s killing.
In one message, Perry wrote: “No protesters go near me or my car” and “I might go to Dallas to shoot looters,” the Austin television news outlet KTBC reported.
Another message that Perry sent on 31 May 2020 said: “I might have to kill a few people on my way to work they are rioting outside my apartment complex.” A few days later, Perry commented on a Facebook post of a video titled “Protesters Looters Get Shot San Antonio Texas”, writing, “glad someone finally did something”.
Perry would be facing life in prison. However, citing existing “Stand Your Ground” laws, Texas governor Greg Abbott (R) is working to pardon Daniel Perry.
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.
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. 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 the review.
I look forward to approving the Board’s pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk.
Additionally, I have already prioritized reining in rogue District Attorneys, and the Texas Legislature is working on laws to achieve that goal.
It is possible that Greg Abbott is facing pressure from the far-right, with a shot of anti-Semitism to go along with it.
Nevertheless, the Right have praised Abbott’s action; the “law and order” MAGA crowd felt that Perry was wrongly accused.