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Father of Texas man killed at 2020 protest decries Abbott’s pardon for convicted killer

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Father of Texas man killed at 2020 protest decries Abbott’s pardon for convicted killer


AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbot issued a full pardon Thursday to a former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murder for fatally shooting an armed demonstrator in 2020 during nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice.

Abbott announced the pardon just minutes after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles disclosed it had made a unanimous recommendation that Daniel Perry be pardoned and have his firearms rights restored. Perry has been held in state prison on a 25-year sentence since his conviction in 2023.

The Republican governor had previously ordered the parole board to review Perry’s case and said earlier that he would sign a pardon if recommended. The board, which is appointed by the governor, announced its unanimous recommendation in a message posted on the agency website, and Abbott’s pardon swiftly followed.

‘I am a racist’: Daniel Perry wrote, shared trove of racist, anti-protester messages

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A jury in Austin had convicted Perry of murder in the death of 28-year-old Garrett Foster, an Air Force veteran who had been legally carrying an AK-47 while marching in a Black Lives Matter protest. Perry was working as a ride-share driver in July 2020, when he turned his car onto a street crowded with demonstrators and shot Foster before driving off.

When reached by phone Wednesday, Foster’s father, Steve, said the pardon “makes no sense.”

“Looks like our justice system comes down to one person,” Steve Foster said, referring to Abbott. “A jury of peers doesn’t matter anymore… Let’s hope he doesn’t do anything again.”

Whitney Mitchell and Garrett Foster, both 28, pose for a picture provided by Mitchell’s mother Patricia Kirven. Kirven and Sheila Foster, Garrett Foster’s mother, say he was shot and killed at a protest in Austin, Texas on Saturday, July 25, 2020. Mitchell, a quadruple amputee, was not physically hurt.(Courtesy of Patricia Kirven / Courtesy of Patricia Kirven)

Abbott’s demand for a review of Perry’s case followed pressure from former Fox News star Tucker Carlson, who on national television had urged the Republican governor to intervene after the sergeant was convicted at trial in April 2022. Perry was sentenced to 25 years in prison after prosecutors used his social media history and text messages to portray him as a racist who may commit violence again.

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Prosecutors argued at trial that Perry could have driven away without opening fire, and witnesses testified that they never saw Foster raise his gun. The sergeant’s defense attorneys argued Foster, who is white, did raise the rifle and that Perry had no choice but to shoot.

Father of BLM protester slain by Daniel Perry speaks out after Abbott pushes for pardon

Perry, who is also white, did not take the witness stand, and jurors deliberated for two days before finding him guilty.

By Jim Vertuno, The Associated Press





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Austin, TX

No. 6 Texas blasts No. 11 Oregon, 11-3, to open Austin Super Regional

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No. 6 Texas blasts No. 11 Oregon, 11-3, to open Austin Super Regional


In front of the largest crowd to ever watch the burnt orange and white at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, the No. 6 Texas Longhorns delivered an impressive performance, thrashing the No. 11 Oregon Ducks 11-3 to open the Austin Super Regional behind 10 strikeouts from sophomore left-hander Dylan Volantis and five RBI supplied by sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez.

Oregon out-hit Texas nine to eight, but the Horns were patient at the plate and delivered timely execution, drawing eight walks, getting hit by three pitches, and driving in three runs on sacrifice flies, adding home runs by junior third baseman Casey Borba and junior designated hitter Ethan Mendoza.

Clutch pitching mattered, too, as Volantis battled persistent command issues, but combined with three other Texas pitchers to strand 17 base runners as Oregon went 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position and 2-for-20 (.100) with runners on base. Two Ducks — right fielder Angel Laya and catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus — each stranded six runners.

“I didn’t think he was sharp tonight, compared to a lot of the other outings that we saw, and yet he gutted it out. He showed the makeup that a true warrior shows when he needed to in the big spots,” Oregon head coach Mark Wasikowski said of Volantis.

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After Volantis retired the Ducks in the first with a strikeout to strand runners on first and third, walks drawn by junior right fielder Aiden Robbins and freshman left fielder Anthony Pack Jr. set the Horns up to strike, and Rodriguez took advantage with two outs and two on when he lashed a 2-1 cutter into the left-center gap. With the Oregon outfielders playing shallow, the hit got to the fence and Pack scored from first to make it 2-0.

In the second, an opposite-field approach by Oregon designated hitter Junior Lauaki produced a bloop double down the field, but Lauaki was too aggressive trying to take third on a chopper to Volantis and got caught in the run down. Another softly-hit ball challenged Pack and Rodriguez with the Texas left fielder getting a good jump to make the catch and avoid a collision.

With one out in the bottom of the inning, Longhorns junior third baseman Casey Borba extended the lead to 3-0 with a 395-foot blast to right-center on a 97-mph fastball, a rare opposite-field shot for the pull-heavy slugger who took focused work in batting practice to that direction on Thursday.

A walk issued to redshirt senior center fielder Dariyan Pendergrass also came back to haunt the Ducks when Pendergrass stole second and third, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Robbins.

Up 4-0, Volantis dealt with a massive jam in the third, giving up an 0-2 single to lead off the inning before briefly losing his command, issuing one-out and two-out walks, then falling behind 3-1 with the bases loaded before beating Brayden Jaska swinging on a fastball and the type of big-time curveball expected from Volantis. The Texas ace left the bases juiced by inducing an inning-ending groundout to second.

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Through the first three innings, Volantis held Oregon scoreless despite issuing three walks and throwing three wild pitches by stranding six runners. The Californian dealt with more traffic in the fourth after allowing a leadoff single up the middle by Lauaki and a double down the left-field line to put runners on second and third with no outs.

But Volantis’ curveball got him out of two more at bats, his fourth and strikeouts with a runner in scoring position, and a groundout to first to end the inning sparked a rare explosion of emotion from the lanky lefty.

One-out and two-out walks drawn by the Horns put runners on first and second for Robbins in the fourth, who worked a full-count walk to bring up junior catcher Carson Tinney. For the big at bat, the Ducks brought in seldom-used lefty Jonah Barkoff for his sixth appearance this season. After throwing a first-pitch strike to Tinney, Barkoff’s balk sent Borba home from third, but a 3-2 breaking ball in the dirt was enough to get Tinney to offer and end the inning.

After retiring the first two batters in the fifth, Volantis looked like he was finally at cruising speed before consecutive singles increased the stress again before another big-time curveball stranded two more runners by retiring Lauaki for the first time.

With Oregon out-hitting Texas 7-3 entering the bottom of the fifth, the Longhorns put one-out hits together with Becerra doubling to right center and Rodriguez singling to left center to make it 6-0.

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Texas scored another run after Mendoza was hit by a pitch, junior first baseman Ashton Larson drew a walk, and Pendergrass was hit by a pitch to force in Rodriguez.

At 96 pitches, Volantis came out for the sixth, but his command faltered again by allowing a leadoff double down the right-field line, a full-count walk, and spiking a first-pitch curveball off the foot of the next batter. For a final time, Volantis recovered, striking out Laya with three swings before departing to a deserved standing ovation as junior right-hander Thomas Burns came on in relief.

Burns got three swings and misses for the second out, but couldn’t find the zone on back-to-back walks on some pitches wildly out of the zone, ending his outing in favor of redshirt senior left-hander Luke Harrison in his second consecutive relief appearance. Despite getting squeezed on a 2-2 curveball, Harrison left no doubt with a swing and a miss on a cutter to strand three and leave the Horns with a 7-2 lead.

A single by Pack and a walk by Becerra put runners on first and second for Rodriguez in the sixth before both advanced on a wild pitch. Rodriguez made the Ducks pay after Pack was nearly picked off on a pitch out, hitting a sacrifice fly to center. And then Mendoza caught a hanging breaker up and over the plate, launching it 438 feet to left center for his 10th home run of the season.

Harrison went 1-2-3 in the seventh to end his effective outing and remains available to start on Monday if necessary or appear out of the bullpen again on Sunday. Freshman right-hander Brody Walls came for the eighth and worked around a solo home run.

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In the ninth, Texas added a run on a sacrifice fly by Rodriguez, whose execution at the plate followed a single by Pack and a double by Becerra.

The Longhorns can advance to the College World Series on Sunday with first pitch at 8 p.m. Central on ESPN with senior right-hander Ruger Riojas (5-2, 3.86 ERA) set to take the mound against Ducks right-hander Will Sanford (9-2, 3.46 ERA).



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Witnesses in Karmelo Anthony murder trial confirm Austin Metcalf’s words immediately after attack

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Witnesses in Karmelo Anthony murder trial confirm Austin Metcalf’s words immediately after attack


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Harrowing new witness testimony shed light on the desperate final moments of 17-year-old Texas high school athlete Austin Metcalf’s life following a fatal April 2025 stabbing at a crowded track meet.

Taking the stand Saturday during the high-profile trial, a recently graduated 18-year-old from Memorial High School broke down in tears as he recounted the chaotic aftermath of the attack, testifying that he heard Metcalf “screaming for help.”

A second witness, a 16-year-old Memorial High School student from the class of 2027, told the court that immediately after the attack, some of Metcalf’s final words were, “he f—— stabbed me.”

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SURVEILLANCE VIDEO SHOWS FATAL STABBING OF AUSTIN METCALF AT TEXAS TRACK MEET, OFFICIALS SAY

A courtroom sketch depicts Karmelo Anthony and his defense team as jurors view surveillance video during Anthony’s murder trial in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a Frisco, Texas, track meet. (Pat Lopez)

The new emotional accounts build on earlier testimony from another student who recalled hearing Metcalf say, “Oh my God,” as the reality of the stabbing set in.

Karmelo Anthony, 19, faces a first-degree murder charge for the death of Metcalf, who was unable to be resuscitated by high school staff who attempted CPR as he lost consciousness. He later died at a local hospital.

Anthony has pleaded not guilty to the charge, with his defense team maintaining that he acted in a “split second of fear and chaos” and stabbed Metcalf in self-defense, Fox News Digital previously reported.

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According to background details presented by prosecutors, the deadly encounter was sparked by a dispute over seating at the track meet. 

Multiple witnesses testified that Anthony arrived uninvited and sat down inside the Memorial High School team tent. Fellow students reportedly asked Anthony to leave the tent as many as 15 times, but he allegedly refused.

Demonstrators show support for Austin Metcalf outside the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas, on the first day of jury selection in Karmelo Anthony’s trial on June 1, 2026. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

TRAIN ATTACK VIDEO REIGNITES FURY OVER WITHHELD FOOTAGE OF AUSTIN METCALF KILLING

As the situation escalated, witnesses testified that Anthony warned Metcalf, telling him, “Touch me and find out,” and “Touch me, see what happens.”

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During the confrontation, Anthony sat with a backpack on his lap and one hand inside it, leading some students to warn Metcalf not to touch him because they suspected he was gripping a concealed weapon.

The verbal dispute turned physical when Metcalf reportedly shoved or touched Anthony, prompting Anthony to stand up and stab the high school captain with a 3.5-inch folding knife.

Witnesses on Saturday described Anthony as “the aggressor,” noting Metcalf was “unwilling to fight.”

A courtroom sketch shows prosecutors delivering opening statements in the murder trial of Karmelo Anthony at the Collin County courthouse in McKinney, Texas. (Pat Lopez)

ACCUSED AUSTIN METCALF KILLER WON’T FACE DEATH PENALTY OR LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE: DA

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Body-camera footage and officer testimony revealed that a cooperative Anthony made admissions to police immediately following the incident. 

“I’m not alleged. I did it,” Anthony allegedly told a responding school resource officer.

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He then repeatedly defended his actions to the police, saying, “He put his hands on me. I told him not to.”

Fox News’ Peter Cuddihy and Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

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Second New World Screwworm case confirmed in Texas

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Second New World Screwworm case confirmed in Texas


Police arrested several teens in connection with the series of shootings across Austin in May. A 17-year-old is facing multiple charges, including multiple counts related to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, theft of a firearm, evading arrest and other related offenses, Austin Police said.



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