Army Sgt. Daniel Perry claims BLM protester was ‘first aggressor’

The Army sergeant convicted of killing a BLM protester requested a new trial on Tuesday — four days after a jury in Austin, Texas found him guilty, reports said.

Daniel Perry’s lawyers claim the Army vet acted in self-defense, and the motion for a new trial alleges that key evidence left out of the original trial shows the “first aggressor” was the protester, Garrett Foster, according to the local Fox station.

Foster was killed when the former soldier shot him during Black Lives Matter rally on July 25, 2020.

Perry — who served a tour in Afghanistan and was stationed at Fort Hood, about 70 miles north of Austin — fired his weapon while he was on the clock for a ride-share company. No one else was in the car at the time.

If granted a new trial, Perry’s defense team intends to show a video of Foster where he admitted he carried an AK-47 to “intimidate puss–s who did not share his beliefs,” the filing states.

Lawyers also tried to show jurors three other incidents where Foster stopped cars on the public streets by using his girlfriend’s wheelchair.

The cars were then swarmed by protesters who would terrorize the drivers or chase after the vehicles.

A police report that called Perry’s action “self-defense” and labeled the shooting a “justified homicide” was also not allowed to be seen in court.

After Friday’s controversial verdict was handed down, Gov. Greg Abbott announced his plans to pardon Perry.

“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,” Abbott tweeted.

The governor asked the Board of Pardons and Parole to look into overturning the verdict.

District Attorney Jose Garza also met with the board Tuesday, to present the evidence the jury heard and so that the board could hear from Foster’s family.

During the trial, jurors heard testimony from witnesses who said Foster never raised the weapon or pointed it at Perry, and instead had been pushing his black, quadruple-amputee fiancée’s wheelchair when he was killed.

Foster was white, as is Perry.

Prosecutors also showed Perry’s social media posts that revealed anti-protest feelings — including calling for people to get away with shooting demonstrators in Texas. 

Perry, who will be sentenced at a later date, broke down when the conviction was read Friday.

He could spend the rest of his life in prison if the conviction is not overturned.