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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has pardoned Daniel Perry, the Army sergeant who was convicted of murder in the fatal shooting of a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, whose members are appointed by the governor, considered the case at Abbott’s request and recommended a pardon. Right-wingers like Tucker Carlson were vocal in pushing for Perry to be pardoned.
I wrote about Abbott’s effort to pardon Perry last year, in this post highlighting the racist and violent texts unearthed by prosecutors.
In a statement accompanying his pardon, Abbott showed his disdain for independent legal proceedings.
“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,” he wrote.
I don’t think there’s a need to overcomplicate the message the conservative movement has been sending.
Among others, right-wingers have lionized:
- A couple who waved guns at pro-Black activists.
- A man who fatally shot pro-Black activists.
- A man who fatally shot a Black teenager.
- A man who was accused of gunning down an undocumented immigrant.
- A former soldier who tortured and killed an Iraqi prisoner.
- And violent insurrectionists who waged a deadly attack on the Capitol … fueled by lies about voter fraud in communities with large Black populations.
That’s today’s GOP in a nutshell: a toxic mix of bloodlust, lawlessness and bigotry.