(PartiallyPolitics.com) – A group of attorney generals from several states is urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to open a civil rights probe into the death of a protester who was part of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement in 2020 after Texas’ Republican Governor Greg Abbott pardoned him two weeks prior.
The coalition of Attorneys General, all of whom are Democrats, noted that at the time of his death, Garrett Foster, the protestor, had been “exercising” his First Amendment right.
The coalition includes Attorneys General from Maine, Oregon, New Jersey, Maryland, Nevada, Minnesota, Delaware, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont, Arizona, and Washington, D.C.
The group also lambasted the case, stating that the facts of the case are “egregious.”
In the letter addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the group expressed their concerns with Texas’ “stand your ground” laws, which Abbott had referenced when announcing the pardon of Daniel Perry.
The group suggested that “stand your ground” laws could prompt vigilantes to attend protests armed to be ready to shoot and kill those exercising their First Amendment Rights.
Perry, who had been found guilty of murdering Foster, an Air Force veteran, by a jury in 2023. Abbott pardoned Perry in mid-May.
At the time of the deadly shooting, Perry was working as an Uber driver and had dropped a passenger off in downtown Austin, Texas.
Perry alleges he saw Foster, who was legally armed with an AK47, point it at him, prompting Perry to shoot Foster because he was in fear for his life.
However, in the letter, the Attorneys General point to Perry’s browsing history and text messages, which showed he had searched for protest locations and sent a text message claiming he was thinking about “traveling to another city to ‘shoot looters.'”
The group also pointed out that Perry may have intended to cover up his crimes.
Letitia James, Attorney General for New York and one of the Attorneys general in the letter suggested that if states “fail to protect their residents,” it was up to the DOJ to ensure “justice is served.”
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