Daniel Perry: Texas pardons US soldier who shot Black Lives Matter protester

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has pardoned a man convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020.

Daniel Perry, a US Army sergeant, was moonlighting as an Uber driver in Austin when he turned on to a street where demonstrators were marching.

Garrett Foster, one of the protesters, approached the vehicle carrying a rifle. Perry shot him dead.

Perry said he acted in self-defence, but he was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Foster, 28, a former US Air Force mechanic, was openly carrying a rifle – something that is legal under Texas law – at the time of the confrontation on 25 July 2020. He was white, as is Perry.

Perry had no passenger in his taxi at the time and said some of the demonstrators began banging on his car. The protesters said they feared the vehicle might ram them.

Perry lowered his window and shot Foster five times with a .357 revolver before driving off. He called 911 shortly afterwards.

The case became a rallying point for conservatives and Governor Abbott previously said he would pardon Perry as soon as he received an official request.