Greg Abbott says he is working to pardon an army sergeant who was convicted Friday of killing a protester at a 2020 Black Lives Matter rally, because being despicable is his hobby. Via CNN:

Daniel Perry, a White army sergeant and rideshare driver, was indicted with murder in 2021 for the fatal shooting of Garrett Foster, who is also White, at a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas. He was also charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and deadly conduct for his behavior at the protest.

A Travis County jury convicted Perry, 35, of murder on Friday. The jury found him not guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and the deadly conduct charge is still pending with the county attorney’s office.

“I am working as swiftly as Texas law allows regarding the pardon of Sgt. Perry,” Abbott tweeted Saturday afternoon.

Perry drove his car into a crowd of protesters.

The prosecution argued that Perry initiated the encounter by running a red light to turn into the crowd gathered for the police brutality protest and had previously posted on social media about shooting protesters, according to CNN affiliate KEYE.

The parole board must make a recommendation to the governor for a pardon, which seems unlikely.