Greg Abbott Under Pressure Over Plan to Pardon 'Racist' Convicted Murderer

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is facing calls to reverse his pledge to pardon Daniel Perry, who was convicted of murder after shooting an armed Black Lives Matter protester dead in July 2020, following the emergence of his racist social media posts.

Unsealed court documents revealed Perry, 33, had compared BLM to "a zoo full of monkeys," called the movement "racist against white people," and wrote it is "to (sic) bad we can't get paid for hunting Muslims in Europe."

After the jury delivered its ruling, Abbott said he would pardon Perry "as swiftly as Texas law allows."

On July 25, 2020, Perry was working as an Uber driver when he came across a BLM protest in downtown Austin. During an altercation that followed, he shot and killed 28-year-old Garrett Foster from his car. Foster, who was legally open carrying, was armed with an AK-47. Perry argued he acted in self-defense and alleged that Foster raised his firearm. A jury concluded the killing was murder.

Court documents unsealed on Thursday revealed Perry had posted a number of racist and racially charged posts on social media before the shooting, which the jury did not see or hear.

In one Facebook post from June 1, 2020, Perry wrote: "Now it is my turn to get banned by comparing black lives matter movement to a zoo full of monkeys that are freaking out flinging their s***."

In another comment, from the same day, he said: "It is official I am a racist because I do not agree with people acting like animals at the zoo."

Perry also 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."

A year earlier, in 2019, Perry wrote it was "to (sic) bad we can't get paid for hunting Muslims in Europe."

Speaking to Newsweek Renae Eze, a spokesperson for Governor Abbott, wouldn't be drawn on whether the pardon will go ahead.

She commented: "All pertinent information is for the Board of Pardons and Paroles to consider, as this is part of the review process required by the Texas Constitution."

Protests broke out across the United States following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, whilst he was being detained by a police officer.

The officer, Derek Chauvin, was later sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison, after being convicted of second-degree murder. Perry encountered Foster at a protest against police brutality in the aftermath of Floyd's killing.

The emergence of Perry's social media posts has triggered a fresh wave of criticism of Governor Abbott over his pledge to deliver a pardon.

On Twitter, the Texas Democrats shared a Houston Chronicle article about the racist posts, adding: "This is the racist murderer Greg Abbott says he wants to pardon — just so he won't get a bad shoutout by Tucker Carlson or a mean tweet from Texas GOP. Governor Abbott, either retract your statement about him or just admit you're a pandering coward."

The No Lie With Brian Tyler Cohen podcast tweeted: "Holy s***. The convicted murderer who Greg Abbott (R) said he is moving to pardon for shooting a Black Lives Matter protestor just had his private texts released— they show him calling Black people 'monkeys,' 'animals,' and saying he wants to hunt them."

Update 4/15/23 03:05 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with comment from Governor Abbott's office.