ALBAWABA - A U.S. Army sergeant convicted of killing a protester at a Black Lives Matter rally in 2020 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday.
Daniel Perry, 36, was found guilty of fatally shooting Garrett Foster, 28, at a racial justice rally following the the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The rally was held on July 25, 2020, in Austin, Texas in the United States.
Perry and Foster are both white.
BREAKING: A U.S. Army sergeant has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting a legally armed protester during a 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstration in Texas.
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 10, 2023
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said he wants to pardon Daniel Perry. https://t.co/gbrRPs7fi6
The sentencing comes a month after a Travis County jury unanimously voted to convict Perry of Foster's murder and nearly three years after Perry killed Foster, an Air Force veteran.
Republicans and Perry's attorneys have tirelessly argued that Perry acted in self-defense.
The incident started when Perry, who drove for Uber at the time, turned on to a street where Black Lives Matter demonstrators were marching. He went through a red light and stopped his vehicle, according to the BBC.
A Texas man convicted of killing a protester in 2020 has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 10, 2023
https://t.co/pMvFKIB3Y5
It said Foster, who was openly carrying an AK-47 assault rifle, which is legal in Texas, was one of several protesters who approached Perry's vehicle. Perry said some of the demonstrators began banging on his car. The protesters told police they feared the vehicle might ram into them, according to media accounts, the BBC reported.
Perry's lawyers said Foster "began to raise the assault rifle toward Sgt Perry," CNN reported.
Authorities said Perry lowered his window and shot Foster five times with a .357 revolver before driving off, BBC said. It said he called 911 shortly afterwards.
