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A 34-year-old infantryman from Dallas, Texas, and stationed at Fort Wainwright for the last 10 months is facing a murder charge in connection with the shooting death of a Black Lives Matter demonstrator in downtown Austin last summer.

Sgt. Daniel Perry, who joined the U.S. Army in 2012 and served in Afghanistan that same year, says it was self-defense after 29-year-old Garrett Foster pointed a weapon at him while other protesters beat on his car, damaging it. Perry was moonlighting as a driver for a ridesharing company and was unaware of the demonstration until he drove up on it, according to a written account on a GoFundMe page aimed at raising money for his legal defense. Both Perry and Foster are white.

Sgt. Perry had acted in self-defense when a masked Boogaloo Boi raised an AK-47 at him during an allegedly peaceful protest, reads a news release provided by Perrys attorney, Clint Broden.

Witnesses say he barreled into the crowd of demonstrators. Perry threatened one of the pedestrians and drove toward that person, according to media reports. Prior to the incident, he had reportedly made hostile statements about protesters in social media posts.

The incident unfolded around the time last year when people in multiple cities were taking to the streets to decry police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

The case is getting a lot of media attention in the Lone Star State, and Broden is accusing the Travis County District Attorney of misconduct saying in a July 7 news release that the district attorney's office coerced Austin police to remove a significant amount of evidence which supported Sgt. Perrys self-defense claim from their grand jury presentation.

According to a city of Austin news release dated July 27, 2020, police officers heard two separate volleys of gunfire during a protest march two days earlier around 10 p.m., and several people called 911, including Perry.

The caller stated they had shot someone who had approached their drivers window and pointed a rifle at them. The caller was instructed to pull over and officers would be dispatched. Officers located and brought the caller to the homicide office to be interviewed. The handgun and vehicle were secured as evidence, reads the news release.

Witnesses offered multiple versions of events, according to Austin police.

Witnesses reported that a disturbance began when a vehicle started honking its horn as it turned southbound onto Congress from 4th St. The vehicle stopped as there were a large number of people in the roadway. Foster, who was holding an AK-47 type assault rifle, approached the drivers side window as others in the crowd began striking the vehicle. Gunshots were fired from inside the vehicle at Foster, reads the news release.

Another person watching the soldier drive away from the crowd pulled out a handgun and fired shots at the vehicle. That person was also interviewed and that weapon seized.

Perry was released pending further investigation. A grand jury indicted him 11 months later. The soldier surrendered to Texas authorities on July 1, according to online court records.

He turned himself in and made bond ($300,000) and was out within about 10 or 15 minutes, said Travis County Sheriffs Office spokeswoman Kristen Dark.

Foster died of multiple gunshot wounds after efforts to resuscitate him failed. He was attending the march with his wheelchair-bound girlfriend, according to media reports. One report said that Foster was a veteran. He was carrying the AK-47, which is allowed under Texas open-carry laws, using a sling.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Perry was doxed and online sleuths revealed that he had made comments about using firearms to protect himself from violent protesters.

According to a U.S. Army spokesman, the incident happened while Perry was stationed at Fort Hood. Since October, he has been attached to the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Fort Wainwright. He is a former Eagle Scout who earned five Army Achievement Medals, according to the GoFundMe page. More than 200 people have donated $18,635 to the Sgt. Daniel Perry Defense Fund as of Monday.

Broden pointed out that the standard of proof required for an indictment is significantly less than the standard of proof required for a conviction. He said the case is important as it pertains to the Texas Stand Your Ground Law.

Perry reportedly passed a lie detector test.

When this case is presented to a jury at trial and the jury gets to hear all the evidence instead of a one-sided presentation, we have every confidence that Sgt. Perry will be acquitted, reads a news release provided by Perrys attorney.

Sgt. Perry again simply asks that anybody who might want to engage in a hindsight review of this incident picture themselves trapped in a car as a masked stranger raises an AK-47 in their direction and reflect upon what they might have done if faced with the split-second decision he faced that evening, the news release reads.

Contact staff writer Amanda Bohman at 459-7545. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/FDNMborough.

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Fort Wainwright soldier indicted in death of Black Lives Matter protester - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

(John Minchillo | AP) Trump supporters participate in a rally in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.

| July 6, 2021, 6:19 p.m.

| Updated: 10:11 p.m.

Black Lives Matter Utah on the Fourth of July called the American flag a symbol of hate on social media, setting off a robust response.

When we Black Americans see this flag, the post read, we know the person flying it is not safe to be around. When we see this flag we know the person flying it is a racist.

Lex Scott, founder of Black Lives Matter Utah, says she knew the posts would cause a reaction.

The point of the post was to make everyone uncomfortable, Scott said. The American flag is taught to us from birth to represent freedom, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Scott says she was angered by photos of the far-right group Patriot Front marching through Philadelphia on Saturday carrying the American flag. The march was disrupted by counterprotesters, who chased them away.

Patriot Front is a white nationalist hate group that formed in the aftermath of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.

Theyre flying American flags. The Ku Klux Klan is flying American flags. The Proud Boys are flying American flags. They climbed the Capitol for their failed insurrection and were beating police officers with American flags. I have not heard any outrage from Republicans or the right about the use of the American flag as a hate symbol, Scott said, adding, We are seeing that symbol used in every racist hate groups messaging across this nation. The problem that I have is no one is addressing the people who are using it for hate. I am telling you when I see an American flag, I begin to feel fear for the simple fact that every time I am faced with hatred, it is at the hands of someone carrying an American flag.

The Utah groups posts were widely circulated on social media over the holiday weekend.

Utah Republican Chairman Carson Jorgensen says hes no Pollyanna when it comes to American history, which he acknowledges is less than perfect. But he does not see the flag as a symbol of hate.

The American flag is a symbol of freedom and opportunity to the world, Jorgensen wrote in an email. We are the shining city on the hill. We are not perfect, but we will never cease to improve.

He says support for the flag is not a partisan issue, as both Republicans and Democrats are supportive. He also says Scotts broad-brush condemnation of the flag because fringe groups are using it is unfair.

This banner has been flown for the liberation of millions and millions who have given their lives in honor of what the flag represents, Jorgensen added. We are stalwart in our support and love for the American flag and all of the good that it stands for.

Sen. Todd Weiler says he disagrees with Scotts message, but its her right as an American to say it.

The vast majority of Utahns, regardless of their race or politics, continue to look to the U.S. flag as a symbol of unity and perseverance for our nations past and hope for our nations future, Weiler said. There have always been those who try to divide us. I am grateful to live in a county that allows dissenting voices to be expressed.

Scott says those who accuse her of being anti-American miss her point.

People are going to say that Black Lives Matter hates America. We dont hate America. We hate the system of white supremacy. Our ancestors built this country. We have every right to criticize, Scott said. Its not hatred to call out hatred.

Scott says its not all venom on the page and that theyve received dozens of messages of support, too.

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'Person flying it is a racist,' Utah Black Lives Matter says of those who fly American flag - Salt Lake Tribune

I Cant Breathe (In Honor of Black Lives) unapologetically occupies most of one wall at the Colfax Cultural Center. George Floyd is murdered in one corner of the painting. Masked protesters march in the other. The broken and jagged word Justice drips blood over the whole piece.

I try to pay attention and make people realize how much injustice is in this world, artist Teresa Greve Wolf says aboutthe piece.

The Expressionist-style painting is part of the 32nd annual "Art and Social Justice Exhibition," which opened last Friday at the Colfax Gallery inSouth Bend. The exhibit features artwork depicting issues of social justice and continues through Aug.13.

The exhibit features work by local artists and highlights social justice concerns, such as racial inequality, poverty, gendered issues and environmental problems.

For example, one mixed-media piece by Melinda Sofia Bandera,"In memoriam of the trans women who have passed," features an ofrenda with paper flowers in front of a transgender flag. A sculptureby Marsha Heck titled "Wealth v. Poverty from the Cultural Chess Series," made with found objects, depicts an unfair chess game with the pieces made out of random objects.

Artwork centered around the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement are especially prominent and poignant in this years exhibition, which features more than50 pieces from 30 local and regional artists.

The annual event began in 1989 as an exhibition by local artists Jake Webster and Douglas Kinsey and focused on social justice issues of the time. The show then evolved to display the work of many artists and a spectrum of injustices in the United States and world.

Of the dozens of pieces on display this year, five were chosen by Mark Rospenda, curator of collections and exhibitions at the South Bend Museum of Art, as jurors picks.

Rospenda sayshe had to take many pictures of the art and spend extra time to make his final selections.

It was really hard for me to choose just five, he says. I really appreciate all of the artists for all they are doing and making.

One of the jurors pick awards went to Greve Wolf for her work. Created with acrylics, I Cant Breathe (In Honor of Black Lives) utilizes bold colors and stark imagery. Rospenda sayshe was struck by its visual message.

The colors and composition are so strong, he saysand likensits style to Mexican muralism.

Greve Wolf saysshe painted the piece in May 2021, after witnessing the effects of the pandemic and the lasting impact of the murder of Floyd.

I wanted to show how our justice system is broken and maybe create a feeling leading to action in the viewer of my art that will inspire positive change, she saysin an email correspondence.

Originally from Chile, Granger-based Greve Wolf saysshe often focuses on social justice in her artwork. For her, creating such pieces serves as not only a personaloutlet but as a call to action.

This piece is my expression of both desperation and hope, she says.

Anonymity by Shelby Ping seeks to invoke the same sense of urgency, anger and remembrance from its viewers. A winner of one of the jurors picks, Pings work also focuses on police brutality.

Superimposed in grease pencil on newspaper clips, two police officers with their faces hidden by gear, stand over a separate panel in the work. Within the panel, a figure lies prostrate on the ground.

A really big issue with our police force is that these police officers have the privilege of being anonymous, Ping says, referring to both riot gear and anonymity held by officers after incidents of police brutality.

In the smaller panel, Ping says,she made a conscious decision to compose the work in such a way as to invoke a sense that the victim is entrapped and caged in.

I wanted to do work that was different from a square canvas, she says.

Ping saysshe chose newspaper clippings from the summer of 2020 from articles about police brutality and Black Lives Matter protests but also from articles about sports and the stock market.

By putting the images (of police brutality)up front, Im trying to bring these issues back to the forefront, she says.

Pings hope is viewers will be reminded police brutality still occurs even when its not the center of news cycles.

Laurie Rousseau's linoleum relief I Cant Breathe, COVID-19 also won a juror's award.

The relief depictsblood vessels in a set of lungs, made with marbled, red print paper.

I just felt like looking at that piece, I couldnt breathe either, Rospenda saysof the relief.

After the death of George Floyd and the pandemics tolls, I felt compelled to make lungs, Rousseau says.

Rousseau is based out of South Bend and works with a variety of medias including drawing and printmaking. The jurors award piece is coupled by its sibling piece, I Cant Breathe, Black Lives Matter, featuring a marbled set of black and blue lungs vessels.

Another piece in the gallery, Scott Andersons Buffoons and Bigotry at the Border, started as a demo for a class he taught on water colors. After reflecting on the political battleground of the border with Mexico, he painted the border fence on top.

Working then with greased pencil, ink and acrylics, the two-paneled piece was born. In it, three floppy hats, representing Ku Klux Klansmen, with googly eyes, slump near a border fence, an effigy labeled Trump behind them.

Anderson saysthe figures reflect the buffoonery of their own ideology.

My main premise of my artwork is a critique of ideology and dogma, and certainly social justice falls into that category, he says.

The KKK hoods hit you right in the face, Rospenda says. The hoods themselves are goofy and droopy.

The googly eyes and cartoon-like nature of the figures represent the ridiculousness of seeing other people as less than themselves, he explains.

As an artist himself, Rospenda says,art can serve three purposes in relation to social justice.

First, it acts as an outlet for the artists, he says. Second, its a record of the times, something that will outlive the artists themselves.

Finally, the art can be a catalyst for others.

People can see this artwork and talk about what they feel, he says. They are going to stick in people's minds and, hopefully, lead to action.

He sayshe never felt the need to create art about social justice until the events of 2020.

I felt like making artwork about anything else didnt feel important enough, Rospenda says.

I would encourage everyone to see the show, Rospendasays. And bring someone to talk about it.

What:"Art and Social Justice Exhibition"

Where: Colfax Cultural Center, 914 Lincoln Way W., South Bend

When:through Aug.13

Reception: 5 p.m. Friday

Hours:11 a.m. to5 p.m.Mondays throughFridays

For more information: visit sbheritage.org/Colfax-gallery

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Black Lives Matter and pandemic focus of this year's 'Art and Social Justice Exhibition' - South Bend Tribune

TikTok has reportedly blocked users of its Creator Marketplace from being able to use words and phrases including "Black" and "Black Lives Matter" in their bios, flagging the words as "inappropriate content."

Ziggi Tyler, 23, who is a user of the app, discovered the function while he was attempting to update his bio over the Fourth of July weekend. Tyler then posted several videos to the app detailing his findings.

In a screen recording, Tyler showed his followers how he repeatedly attempted to include Black, Black Lives Matter, Black people," Black success, Pro-Black, and I am a Black man in his bio only to receive an"inappropriate content" error, making him unable to update it.

#greenscreenvideo Im going live in 30 minutes to answer questions. Yall need to get this message out. Please. #fyp #fyp #wrong #justice

In the video, Tyler later attempts to add the wordspro-white and supporting white supremacy" to his bio. In those examples, he was able to save the content without receiving an error.

The TikTok Creator Marketplace feature, which is currently in beta testing, aims to help creators connect with brands to form sponsorship deals. Tyler explained to Forbes that he had hoped to use the platform to highlight his racial background to advertisers looking to diversify their talent or launch campaigns focusing on racial justice.

White people can get on here and call me the n-word and make videos about violent extremism but I cant do anything, Tyler said. We cant do anything.

The social media platform attributed Tyler's experience to a flaw within safeguards designed to filter out hate speech.

Our TikTok Creator Marketplace protections, which flag phrases typically associated with hate speech, were erroneously set to flag phrases without respect to word order, a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. We recognize and apologize for how frustrating this was to experience, and our team has fixed this significant error. To be clear, Black Lives Matter does not violate our policies and currently has over 27B views on our platform."

Last month, Black TikTok users decided to go on an indefinite strike, choosing not tochoreograph dances to popular songs after white users of the platform were accused of taking moves from Black users without offering credit. Some of the messages that were then sent by the white users went viral on the platform.

Updated 7:53 p.m.

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TikTok blocked creators from using 'Black Lives Matter' in bios | TheHill - The Hill

Richie Goodwin, the brother of a 26th District Philadelphia police officer, was arrested Wednesday and charged with repeatedly punching a man who showed solidarity with Black Lives Matter supporters near the police station last year.

Goodwin, 45, turned himself in to East Detectives division, where he was charged with assault and recklessly endangering another person.

The night of June 1, 2020, between 4 and 10 p.m., dozens of Fishtown residents called 911 or the 26th District to report they felt unsafe because they saw an agitated group of white men armed with baseball bats, wooden walking clubs, axes, and metal tools threatening, harassing, and, in some cases, assaulting peaceful protesters.

There were some 36 reports of a person with a weapon during that time, yet officers arrested no one on any charge within a half-mile of the district headquarters, according to department records provided by police, an Inquirer investigation found. Instead, Capt. William Fisher and other officers watched.

READ MORE: Why arent you arresting them? Philly officials investigate police after assaults against Fishtown protesters.

Goodwin is charged with assaulting Matt Williams, who was biking home with his girlfriend, Kara Khan, after police teargassed them at a Black Lives Matter protest on I-676. They were near Girard Avenue and Berks Street when someone threw a water bottle at Williams head. Khan got off her bike to walk toward the men, some of whom she could see wielded bats.

She said they accosted her with obscenities and racial slurs.

When she asked the officers who stood near them how they could let this happen, she said one of them told her:

Now you know how we feel.

Then a man, later identified as Goodwin, shoved Williams off his bike to the ground. Goodwin repeatedly punched Williams in the head until his ear and face bled, the District Attorneys Office said. Photos show Williams on his knees, with his hands over his head, in an effort to shield the blows. Blood dripped from his head and ear. At least two bystanders attempted to intervene as Williams was attacked.

Goodwin did not respond to a phone message Wednesday. Last year, he told The Inquirer that Williams started the fight by spitting on him. Williams said he didnt spit at anyone.

What apparently provoked Goodwin was when Williams threw up his fist in solidarity with Black Lives Matter supporters, District Attorney Larry Krasner said.

Just as our city and nation continue to reckon with systemic racism and injustice, the Philadelphia DAs office continues to investigate incidents of property destruction, burglary, harassment, and violence that occurred during the historic uprisings of 2020. We will not tolerate violence in the name of movement protest or in the name of protecting the police, Krasner said.

Goodwin had admitted to a reporter that he also shoved a male protester. I became something that Im not, he said, adding that hes not a racist.

Police are well-familiar with Goodwin. He served prison time for punching a man to death during a 2008 alcohol-fueled brawl. He was on probation when he was arrested in March 2012 for a DUI and a judge sentenced him to a maximum of four years, according to court records.

Goodwin is the second person to be charged in connection with the altercations that erupted in Fishtown on June 1 of last year. Last month, George Graf, 36, was charged with conspiracy, aggravated assault, and related charges for allegedly beating a WHYY producer and his girlfriend.

That night, there were roughly 20 officers on the street just outside the police station on Girard Avenue. Some chatted with the bat-wielding men who said they were there to protect the police and their neighborhood from would-be looters. Earlier, officers even shared pizza and sandwiches with them. As a result, the District Attorneys Office and the Police Departments Internal Affairs Division launched investigations.

READ MORE: Philly police stood by as men with baseball bats protected Fishtown. Some residents were assaulted and threatened.

I think police should do their jobs, which are to apply the law in a way that is evenhanded, Krasner was quoted in The Inquirer investigation. And I find it very problematic when you see law enforcement favoring one group over another and systematically refraining from reining in one group that is committing crimes.

On June 3, 2020, officers went to Goodwins house in Port Richmond. Goodwin had told a reporter he had called a crisis hotline that morning, saying he wanted to kill himself because he was being wrongfully labeled a white supremacist on social media.

Goodwin said his brother, Joseph Jr., an officer since 1996, came to help and drove him to the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. Richie Goodwin served in the Navy from 1995 to 1998 where he said he suffered a brain injury after being attacked in the Persian Gulf.

Theres something wrong with me, he said. I dont want to hurt people.

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Philly cops brother charged with assaulting Black Lives Matter protester in Fishtown - The Philadelphia Inquirer