Daniel Perry, a former Army Sergeant who was granted a full pardon by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, is speaking out for the first time since he fatally shot an armed BLM protester during the summer of 2020.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Wire, Perry details what happened that fateful night and explains some of the controversies of the case, including the shocking actions of George Soros-funded District Attorney Jose Garza, whom Perry says is victimizing others in Austin.

For the uninitiated, Perry, then 30 years old, was stationed with the U.S. Army outside of Austin, Texas, in 2020, and was working as an Uber driver as a side hustle. On July 25, after dropping off a passenger, he found himself in the midst of a Black Lives Matter protest, where at least two protesters were armed. Perry ended up fatally shooting Garrett Foster, 28, who approached Perry’s car window while open-carrying a loaded AK-47. Both Foster and Perry are white and military veterans.

Perry was later charged with murder by Garza. Perry was convicted of murder in April of 2023, and a year later, in May of 2024, Gov. Abbott issued a full pardon to Perry and called out Garza for politically motivated actions.

Recalling the night of the incident, Perry told The Daily Wire that he had no intention of ending up near a BLM protest, and when he realized he was approaching a crowd of people, he stopped his vehicle.

“A guy jumped in front of my vehicle so I couldn’t drive any further and somebody threw a water bottle,” Perry said. “That’s when I honked my horn.”

“They start rocking and shaking my car and banging on it with their fists and kicking it,” he continued. “And the guy approached me with an AK-47 and he motioned [for] me to roll my windows. And at this point in time, I’m kind of in a state of shock and I complied with him – I don’t know why I complied with him … I rolled my windows down.”

LISTEN to the full interview with Daniel Perry on Morning Wire 

The man, later identified as Foster, said something to Perry that was “completely muffled.”

“I had no idea what he was saying, and then he takes two steps back and he points – starts raising the barrel of his AK-47 at me. And my body reacted on its own. I grabbed my revolver and I shot him.”

Perry said he sped away to try to get to safety and heard gunshots going off behind him. There was a second shooter in the crowd, but Perry thought he had missed Foster and believed Foster was now trying to kill him.

The second shooter left three bullet holes in Perry’s vehicle and has since been identified by authorities, who have determined that the person acted criminally. However, Perry said the DA’s office has refused to prosecute the shooter – another suspect decision from Garza.

“I honestly thought I wasn’t going to make it out of there alive,” Perry said. “A thought that went through me was that I hadn’t been the most right, righteous Jew in the world, and that I wouldn’t see my parents again and make amends for not talking to them as much as I should.”

Perry said that following the incident, he was seeking help to cope with the trauma he experienced and was trying to move on with his life. He never thought he would be charged with murder, since he said he clearly acted in self-defense.

But all that changed.

Perry started to receive death threats over the incident and said the U.S. Army stationed him in Alaska to protect his safety. At the same time, Perry said Garza was campaigning for District Attorney on a platform that included getting “justice” for Foster.

As Perry feared, Garza was elected and secured an indictment against him. At the time, Perry’s defense said that the indictment was politically motivated and “unusual,” since they were unable to present a written presentation to the Grand Jury.

“Honestly, I felt like the justice system was going to work in my favor because I believe I did nothing wrong,” Perry described his feelings heading into the trial. “But at the back of my mind, I believed that the DA was going to tip the scales and put me at a slight disadvantage.”

The trial was controversial. For example, one of the jurors printed outside research and presented it to fellow jurors. The defense sought a new trial over the issue, but the judge agreed with prosecution that such action from the juror was okay.

In another controversy, the lead investigator on the case, Brent Fugitt, testified that Garza’s office tampered with him as a witness. Fugitt said he was ordered to remove almost all exculpatory evidence that would have helped Perry.

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“I had no idea that the jury instruction was going to be as complicated as they were going to be,” Perry said. “And I had no idea that there was a jury member bringing in outside information to the trial to use it to change the mind of the other members of the jury. I also had no idea about the witness tampering. [The DA’s office] also did not allow the police support in my trial, and they did not allow the lead detective to give his professional opinion about my case.”

Perry was convicted on April 8, 2023, for the murder of Foster, and was later sentenced to 25 years behind bars.

“I felt like I was betrayed by the American people, even though that’s not really true,” Perry told The Daily Wire. “It was just the city of Austin.”

“My entire belief system of the justice system was destroyed, because I felt like it was weaponized against me. I felt that I was never going to see my parents again alive,” he continued. “I broke up with my fiancée, because I thought I was never going to see her again. I told her that I cannot provide her the family that she deserves, so she needed to move on and find a husband who can help her raise a family. That was the hardest thing I ever had to do.”

After Perry was convicted, Gov. Abbott announced that he would be asking the Texas Parole Board to review Perry’s case, and if a recommendation was made, he would move swiftly to give Perry a full pardon. “Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney,” the governor said.

Perry spent 13 months behind bars before Abbott received the go-ahead from the board to grant the full pardon. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton reacted to the pardon, saying online, “Soros-backed prosecutors like Jose Garza do not get to pick and choose the rights we have as Americans, and I am relieved that justice has prevailed.”

Perry, who is Jewish, said it was his faith in God that got him through.

“I felt that God had answered my prayers,” he said. “I don’t know many prayers by heart, but I did the Shema three times a day. And then a few days later, I found out that the governor actually said that about me and actually brought me hope. I felt like I was blessed, to be honest.”

Perry also noted how Garza and his office have taken actions against him that he feels are both politically motivated and personal. In one instance, Perry believes Garza’s office was behind the push to get him a less-than-honorable discharge from the military.

“The district attorney got involved with my discharge process to ensure that I wouldn’t get an honorable discharge,” he said. “I wish I still had a copy of my discharge packet. There was a letter with the official ‘District Attorney of Travis County’ letterhead on it stating that the government’s statements about me being innocent were just political and that I am, in fact, a convicted murderer.”

Perry’s attorney, Doug O’Connell, said that the move to discharge Perry after the conviction was “wildly premature,” noting that there was still a motion for a new trial pending and there was no formal paperwork labeling Perry as guilty, Military Times reported. Moreover, the initial police report labeled Foster’s death a “justified homicide.”

“He won the conviction,” Perry said of Garza. “He didn’t have to take the extra step to make sure that all my military benefits would be stripped away from me. My unit, they tried their hardest to make sure that I would stay in so there’s a place for me to return, but the Army legal office got involved and took it out of their hands.”

Garza also released some of Perry’s private messages after Gov. Abbott said he was looking to issue a pardon. Perry says the messages were mostly with his military buddies and were taken out of context, and believes they were released as “retaliation.”

Some of the private messages discussed guns and shooting protesters if they were to attack him, and other messages were racial in nature and offensive. The messages soon became the prevailing narrative around the case.

At the time, Perry’s defense issued statements from two black males, Sgt. Traveon Napper and former Army member Ronald Wilson, who defended Perry.

“I can confidently say that Daniel Perry is not a racist. I have known Daniel for over five years as a colleague and a friend. I have known him to be nothing but a professional, hard-working soldier whose statements are being taken out of context. I know Daniel Perry would take a bullet for me,” Sgt. Napper said.

Wilson said in a statement, “While in the Army, I witnessed Daniel interact with people of many different races and he treated everyone the same. Anyone who knows Daniel will tell you that he’s the definition of the Army values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. I know Daniel would do anything for me and I would do anything for him.”

Perry told The Daily Wire that there were racial memes sent and received to and from his black military buddies, and emphasized how guys in the military like offensive humor.

“We don’t see race in the military,” Perry said. “We see something funny – doesn’t matter how bad it is, we share it with each other. If you were ever able to sit in a room full of active duty soldiers, and you hear the conversations they have when they’re bored, a lot of people will be offended. It’s like for other soldiers or veterans, we like dirty jokes in the military. We like offensive jokes in the military.”

Perry also said he shouldn’t have “advocated for violence” in private messages about riots, but said he believes that violence is necessary for self-defense and to protect your family.

The 37-year-old has not spoken to any media about the incident or the pardon, until now. Perry said he’s only speaking to The Daily Wire because he thinks Garza is unjustly prosecuting others for political reasons, specifically police officers. Notably, Garza has indicted more than 20 Austin police officers for their actions during the violent 2020 BLM riots.

“I am completely terrified and I’m worried that they might retaliate, just because I’m talking to you guys,” Perry said. “But if nobody speaks up against the injustice that he’s bringing, nobody’s going to hear my story and more officers and more law-abiding citizens will face his wrath. I’m not his only victim.”

Perry specifically brought up the prosecution of Austin police officer Christopher Taylor. “He got three hung [grand] juries and then they didn’t indict him a fourth time, so they decided to pursue another shooting he was involved in that happened a year prior with an armed man who was armed with a knife,” Perry said.

Taylor’s defense attorney said online that he’s never seen a more “clear cut self defense case involving an officer,” and posted during jury deliberations, “The jury must be improperly considering the other-unproven allegations made by this same anti-police DA.”

Perry is still facing one misdemeanor charge — a deadly conduct charge punishable by up to one year behind bars — in connection to Foster’s death. He closed the interview by telling The Daily Wire that he feels like he has nothing to lose by speaking out about Garza.

“My reputation is already ruined. My career is already ruined. The only thing they could take away from me is, maximum, some jail time,” Perry said. “But I don’t see they could take any more away from me.”

Perry’s next hearing is set for December.

LISTEN to the full interview with Daniel Perry on Morning Wire