Sgt. Daniel Perry Legal Defense Fund (Official Site)

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF A CROWD OF PROTESTORS SURROUNDED YOUR CAR WHILE YOU WERE DRIVING DOWN A CITY STREET AND BEGAN HITTING YOUR CAR WITH BRICKS AND THEN ANOTHER MASKED PROTESTOR APPROACHED YOUR CAR CARRYING AN AK-47 IN THE READY POSITION AND BEGAN TO RAISE IT?????

In what can only be described as a travesty of justice, Sgt. Daniel Perry, an active duty soldier serving his country, is being prosecuted in Travis County, Texas for defending himself against a masked protestor who raised an AK-47 toward him.

Daniel Perry is a former Eagle Scout from the North Texas area and has served our country proudly for almost ten years. Sgt. Perry served a tour in Afghanistan and has been the recipient of numerous army awards, and commendations including five Army Achievement Medals.

Sgt. Perry was in the Austin area on July 25, 2020, driving for Uber. Sgt. Perry sometimes did Uber driving on the weekends to make ends meet. Although Sgt. Perry was from the North Texas area, army restrictions limited his travel to within about 80 miles of his base at Fort Hood and Austin was the most profitable locale within that radius.

Also on July 25, 2021 and prior to the incident, Garrett Foster was interviewed by a reporter regarding his decision to carry an assault weapon to an Austin protest march in a “one point sling.” During the interview, Foster explained that he chose to bring an assault weapon to a “peaceful” protest because he wanted to march and that people were “too big of pussies” to stop him from marching.

Sgt. Perry had dropped his client on or close to West 6th Street at approximately 9:15 p.m. Sgt. Perry made a right onto Congress Avenue from Fourth Street, and it was there that he first encountered a throng of people in the street. It was not immediately apparent to Sgt. Perry what group was demonstrating and, prior to turning onto Congress Avenue, Sgt. Perry had been unaware that a demonstration was taking place. After Sgt. Perry turned onto Congress Avenue, several people started beating on his vehicle. Picture showing the damage to Sgt. Perry’s car are in the possession of the police. The pictures included pictures of damage done by protestors hitting the car with brick, trying to pull the door of the frame and from bullets.

Sgt. Perry was then quickly approached by Mr. Foster, who was carrying an aAK-47 in a “one point sling.” Sgt. Perry, initially believing that Mr. Foster was associated with law enforcement (who else would carry an assault rifle on the streets), complied with the command. Nevertheless, after lowering the window, it became apparent to Sgt. Perry that the individual was not with law enforcement. Foster, the individual with the AK-47, began to raise the AK-47 toward Sgt. Perry. It was only then that Sgt. Perry, who carried a handgun in his car for his own protection, fired on Foster because he believed his life to be in jeopardy. Moreover, Sgt. Perry acted in the manner in which he was trained to act when presented with a deadly threat and, consistent with that training, aimed center mass.

This training also prevented the injury of bystanders. Indeed, Sgt. Perry was only concerned with protecting his own life which was threatened by Foster’s actions and Sgt. Perry had absolutely no desire to injure other protestors, (even despite the fact that some were beating on his car) as some have tried to claim. The false narrative spread by some of the protestors that Mr. Perry purposely drove into the crowd to injure protestors is also refuted by the fact that no individuals claim they were injured by Mr. Perry’s vehicle.

Immediately thereafter, a member of the crowd began firing on Sgt. Perry’s vehicle. Sgt. Perry drove to safety and immediately called the police. He waited for the police to arrive and was fully cooperative with the police following the shooting.

Below are some of Foster’s social media posts from the days prior to the incident.

Foster Interview

Unfortunately, these social media posts by Foster, as well as the interview Foster did immediately prior to the protest march, paint a picture of a person who believed that anybody who interrupted what he viewed to be the exercise of his rights deserved to be shot.

To be clear, the death of Foster was tragic, and Sgt. Perry deeply sympathizes with the loss and grief experienced by Foster’s family. Nevertheless, that does not change facts. The law in Texas is clear that the State must disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. Here, Foster’s comments and actions strongly indicate that he believed he could take action into his own hands if anybody interrupted what he viewed to be the exercise of his rights. Foster did so on July 25, 2020, by starting to raise his AK-47 toward somebody who he viewed as a “pussy” interfering with the march.