Democratic Attorney General James and other Democratic attorneys general are now targeting Republican Governor Abbott of Texas

New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with 13 other state attorneys general, called on the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a civil rights investigation in response to the pardon of Daniel Perry by Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.

On May 16, Abbott pardoned Perry, a former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murder for shooting Garrett Foster during a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020. Perry, who is white, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after a confrontation with Foster, who was also white.

“Texas has a robust ‘Stand Your Ground’ self-defense law that cannot be overturned by a jury or a progressive District Attorney,” Abbott stated, agreeing with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles’ recommendation.

James and her colleagues are now urging the Justice Department to investigate Abbott’s actions and determine if Perry violated criminal laws or if “stand your ground” laws promote vigilantism.

In a joint letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, James and the other AGs expressed concerns about the implications of “stand your ground” laws on protests and called for a federal investigation into Perry’s actions.

James was supported in her letter by AGs from Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

With 23 Democrat AGs and 27 Republican AGs in the U.S., James did not have unanimous support from her party’s top state prosecutors.