Daniel Perry sentenced to 25 years for BLM protest murder
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Candles and flowers sit in front of a makeshift memorial at a vigil for Garrett Foster in 2020 in downtown Austin. Photo: Sergio Flores/Getty Images
A man convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester in Austin in 2020 was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Driving the news: Texas state District Judge Clifford Brown handed down Daniel Perry's sentence Wednesday for the murder of protester Garrett Foster during a confrontation at an Austin BLM demonstration.
Yes, but: Perry might not spend much time in prison.
The intrigue: Last month, a day after a Travis County jury convicted Perry of murder, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he had asked that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles determine if Perry should be granted a pardon.
- "I look forward to approving the Board's pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk," Abbott tweeted.
Between the lines: That was before racist social media posts by Perry were unsealed by the court.
- Less than two months before the murder, Perry posted, "Black Lives Matter is racist to white people...It is official I am racist because I do not agree with people acting like monkeys," per reporting by the Austin American-Statesman.
Flashback: Perry, a U.S. Army sergeant and Uber driver, drove into a crowd gathered downtown to protest police violence and later fatally shot Foster, an Air Force veteran who was legally armed with an AK-47 rifle.
- Perry's defense team said he acted in self-defense, per the Austin American-Statesman, but prosecutors argued that Perry instigated what happened.
Details: Perry faced a sentence between five and 99 years.
At a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, defense attorneys asked the judge to consider a sentence of 10 years, citing Perry's military service.
- A forensic psychologist they called testified that Perry suffered from PTSD.
The other side: Prosecutors asked for a sentence of at least 25 years.
- Foster's wife, Whitney Mitchell, a quadruple amputee, testified that "I've had friends who've been taking care of me … and have to learn how to do all of that stuff that Garrett was doing for me for a decade," per reporting by Fox 7 Austin.
What we're watching: Abbott's next move.
- The politics of pardoning Perry — egged on by Tucker Carlson — might play better among Abbott's Texas base than among national general election voters, should he want to run for the White House.
Of note: The Board of Pardons and Paroles tells Axios its investigation is ongoing and had no further comment on the timeline of a recommendation.