Christian Smith
(The hill) – Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro on Thursday accused Texas Gov. Greg Abbott of having an “alliance with white nationalists” after pardoning an Army sergeant who was previously convicted of shooting and killing a Black protester. Lives Matter (BLM) in 2020.
“Before Daniel Perry murdered a veteran in 2020, he told a friend he ‘might go to Dallas to shoot looters.’ A year earlier, he wrote, “to [sic] It’s a shame we can’t get paid for hunting Muslims,’” Castro wrote in a statement Thursday. “Governor Abbott’s alliance with white nationalists is putting dangerous people on our streets.”
The comments came shortly after Abbott announced Thursday that he had granted a pardon to Daniel Perry, who was found guilty last April of the death of Garrett Foster during a July 2020 protest in Austin, Texas.
Perry, who is white and working as an Uber driver at the time of the incident, dropped off a passenger in downtown Austin and attempted to move his car through a crowd of protesters when he said Foster, who was legally armed with an AK-47, pointed his rifle at him.
Perry, who was also legally carrying a gun, shot Foster, claiming he feared for his life.
He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, which angered conservatives who argued that he acted in self-defense. Abbott later asked the state parole board to review Perry’s case.
The council, appointed by Abbott, issued a unanimous recommendation to pardon Perry, which led to the governor’s proclamation on Thursday.
Perry will receive a full pardon and “restoration of full civil citizenship rights” as part of Abbott’s proclamation.
Prosecutors argued that Foster did not raise a gun, pointing to eyewitness accounts that dispute Perry’s claims. Documents released last year showed that Perry also shared racist content in private messages, including one where he compared BLM protesters to monkeys.
“I’m racist because I don’t agree with people acting like animals in the zoo,” he wrote. “I was on the side” of the protesters, he said, until “the looting and violence started.”
Other messages included white supremacist memes and Perry discussing the prospect of traveling to Dallas to shoot “looters.”
Castro has served Texas’ 20th Congressional District since 2013, representing about half of San Antonio, located about 80 miles from Austin.
The Hill has reached out to Abbott’s office for comment.
