Protester fatally shot; Governor grants clemency to shooter
During a Black Lives Matter protest, a man fires at and kills a participant. A court sentences him to multiple years behind bars. The conservative television host Tucker Carlson requests his acquittal. Now, a pardon - from the governor of Texas.
The Texas Governor Greg Abbott has chosen to pardon a previous US soldier who had been sentenced to a lengthy time in prison for the killing of a participant in a Black Lives Matter protest. Texas law ensures the protection of everyone's right to self-defense, which cannot be overruled by a jury or a progressive prosecutor, according to the Republican Abbott in support of his decision.
An accomplished board had previously suggested a pardon. The death of George Floyd, a black man, ignited the Black Lives Matter movement in spring 2020. At the time, there were widespread protests against police violence and racism. During one of the demonstrations in Austin, the former soldier fired and killed a 28-year-old participant. He stated in court that he had driven his car into the protest. He opened fire after the victim displayed a rifle at him. Both the shooter and the victim are white.
Shooter posted racist images online
Witness statements offered a different account. According to them, the armed protester tried to stop the man from driving his car into the crowd. The former soldier was given a 25-year sentence last year. As per the Washington Post, disclosed court documents revealed that the shooter regularly shared racist images and threatening content on social media. This case gained attention in the US as well-known conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson spoke out on his Fox News program at the time and championed the acquittal of the former soldier.
The situation recalls the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse. Back in the summer of 2020 during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the 17-year-old shot and killed two white men with an assault rifle and hurt another person. He claimed self-defense in the trial against him and was declared not guilty. Rittenhouse is now admired as a kind of hero within the right-wing scene and frequently grabs the spotlight.
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After the revelation of the shooter's history of sharing racist images and threatening content online, concerns about racial motivations in the fatal shooting during a Black Lives Matter protest in Texas intensified. Despite this, Texas Governor Greg Abbott granted clemency to the shooter, sparking controversy and controversy over the use of self-defense as a justification for the killing in a state with a significant history of racism.
Source: www.ntv.de
