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Then, here came running Gov. Abbott, defending the reckless actions that led to the death of an innocent man.

Read more from USA TODAY:

Less than 24 hours after a Texas jury convicted Army Sgt. Daniel Perry of murder in the 2020 shooting of a protester, Gov. Greg Abbott announced on social media Saturday that he will pardon Perry as soon as a request “hits my desk.”

The unprecedented effort, which Abbott announced to his 1 million followers on Twitter, came as Abbott faced growing calls from national conservative figures such as Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted in the shooting deaths of two Wisconsin protesters in 2020, to act to urgently undo the conviction.

“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 said in a tweet. “I will work as swiftly as Texas law allows regarding the pardon of Sgt. Perry.”

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Texas’ “stand your ground” law states that a person does not have to retreat from using deadly force if they are in a place they have a right to be, not engaged in criminal activity and has not provoked their assailant. According to the order of events, Perry wasn’t assaulted by Foster but instead nearly assaulted a group of demonstrators with his vehicle who would have then had the right to “stand their ground” after being provoked. No?

Well, the jury found him not guilty of speeding his car into the crowd.

Nevertheless, this support from the we watched Kyle Rittenhouse kill two people and injure another after crossing county lines to counterprotest a Black Lives Matter demonstration and get away with it. Now, he’s an aspiring political figure, backed by Faux News and rallying for people to support Perry’s pardon.

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However, Abbott’s pardon still needs approval from the Board of Pardons and Paroles (who were appointed by him). Pardons are usually announced every December, the report says. Until Christmas time, Perry will be sentenced and sent to prison.