Daniel Perry, a 35-year-old U.S. Army sergeant, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 2020 death of a Black Lives Matter protester carrying an AK-47.
Perry, who claims he acted in self-defense during the altercation, was found guilty of murder last month and was facing anywhere from 5 to 99 years behind bars. Notably, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to pardon Perry.
At the time of his death, Garrett Foster, a 28-year-old white man, was protesting the death of George Floyd.
“The protesters were all around me, banging on the side of the car, hitting me with spray paint cans,” Perry told investigators, according to the Austin American-Statesman. “One guy (Foster) wanted to talk to me.”
Perry said he rolled down his window to talk to Foster, who said something quietly before raising his weapon. Foster was openly carrying an AK-47 across his chest.
“That’s when I got my weapon and pulled the trigger as fast as I could, and then drove away and called 911,” Perry told police. He turned himself into authorities immediately following the incident.
Abbott went after the prosecutor in the Perry case, District Attorney Jose Garza, whose campaign was backed by billionaire Democrat megadonor George Soros.
“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,” the governor said in a statement, The Daily Wire reported. “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,” Abbott continued. “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. Additionally, I have already prioritized reining in rogue District Attorneys, and the Texas Legislature is working on laws to achieve that goal.”
I am working as swiftly as Texas law allows regarding the pardon of Sgt. Perry. pic.twitter.com/HydwdzneMU
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 8, 2023
Ashe Schow contributed to this post