Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday issued a full pardon for a former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murder in the shooting death of an armed protester during a 2020 Black Lives Matter march.  

The move by Abbott came minutes after a unanimous recommendation by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles that Daniel Perry be pardoned and have his firearms rights restored. 

Under Texas law, the governor cannot issue a pardon without a recommendation from the board, which the governor appoints.

“The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles conducted an exhaustive review of U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Perry’s personal history and the facts surrounding the July 2020 incident and recommended a Full Pardon and Restoration of Full Civil Rights of Citizenship,” Abbott said in a statement. 

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“Among the voluminous files reviewed by the Board, they considered information provided by the Travis County District Attorney, the full investigative report on Daniel Perry, plus a review of all the testimony provided at trial,” Abbott said. “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. I thank the Board for its thorough investigation, and I approve their pardon recommendation.”

Perry was convicted of murder last month in the 2020 shooting death of 28-year-old Garrett Foster, who was legally carrying an AK-47 rifle through downtown Austin during a summer of nationwide riots. 

Perry was sentenced to 25 years in prison for Foster’s murder.

Perry’s attorney, Douglas K. O’Connell, said his client is “thrilled and elated to be free” and “optimistic for his future.” 

“He wishes that this tragic event never happened and wishes he never had to defend himself against Mr. Foster’s unlawful actions,” O’Connell said. “At the same time, Daniel recognizes that the Foster family is grieving. We are anxious to see Daniel reunited with his family and loved ones.”

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Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza blasted the pardon as a “mockery of our legal system.”

“The board and the governor have put their politics over justice,” Garza said. “They should be ashamed of themselves. Their actions are contrary to the law and demonstrate that there are two classes of people in this state where some lives matter and some lives do not. They have sent a message to Garrett Foster’s family, to his partner, and to our community that his life does not matter. “

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

Perry served in the Army for more than a decade. At trial, a forensic psychologist testified that he believed Perry has post-traumatic stress disorder from his deployment to Afghanistan and from being bullied as a child. 

At the time of the shooting, Perry was stationed at Fort Cavazos, then Fort Hood, about 70 miles north of Austin.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A man in Arizona was arrested earlier this week after he allegedly faked his own death to avoid registering as a sex offender, according to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.

Benjamin Hollins, 50, who was originally convicted as a sex offender more than 20 years ago in California, was arrested on Tuesday after officers with the Chandler Police Department located him living at a home in Mesa, Arizona, under a false identity.

The sheriff’s office did not say why police were looking for him or how they came across him.

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Hollins was living in Arizona City by 2018 and had failed to register as a sex offender outside of California, according to a post by the sheriff’s office on Facebook. He was also working as a behavioral health counselor.

During that job, Hollins kidnapped and attempted to molest a 16-year-old client. He was sentenced to supervised probation after taking a plea deal, which required him to register as a sex offender every year.

He did not follow through with the requirement and attempted to fake his own death in October 2023, the sheriff’s office said. 

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A woman, who has not been identified, told police she witnessed Hollins take his life by jumping off the bridge at the Theodore Roosevelt Lake Dam between Gila and Maricopa counties.

“A lot of resources were wasted looking for his body, which was clearly not found because he wasn’t dead,” Sheriff Mark Lamb said.

Hollins, 50, was located at a house in Mesa, Arizona, and was living under a false identity. (Pinal County Sheriff’s Office)

Hollins’ sex offender registration lapsed when he was “dead,” according to the sheriff’s office, and when he was found in Mesa, he was living with a family with young children. 

The family had “no idea about his history,” the sheriff’s office wrote.

Lamb explained Hollins’ arrest in a short video posted to Facebook on Thursday.

“Nice try, Benjamin. We found you. You’re not dead. We’re gonna hold you accountable,” Lamb said in the video.

Hollins is scheduled to be in court on Tuesday.