Greg Abbott pardons a man convicted of murder after facing pressure from Tucker Carlson

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has pardoned Daniel Perry, the Army sergeant who was convicted of murder in the fatal shooting of a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, whose members are appointed by the governor, considered the case at Abbott’s request and recommended a pardon. Right-wingers like Tucker Carlson were vocal in pushing for Perry to be pardoned.

I wrote about Abbott’s effort to pardon Perry last year, in this post highlighting the racist and violent texts unearthed by prosecutors.

In a statement accompanying his pardon, Abbott showed his disdain for independent legal proceedings.

“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,” he wrote.

I don’t think there’s a need to overcomplicate the message the conservative movement has been sending.

Among others, right-wingers have lionized:

• A couple who waved guns at pro-Black activists.

• A man who fatally shot pro-Black activists.

• A man who fatally shot a Black teenager.

• A man who was accused of gunning down an undocumented immigrant.

• A former soldier who tortured and killed an Iraqi prisoner.

• And violent insurrectionists who waged a deadly attack on the Capitol … fueled by lies about voter fraud in communities with large Black populations.

That’s today’s GOP in a nutshell: a toxic mix of bloodlust, lawlessness and bigotry.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com