Daniel Perry, who was recently convicted of murdering a Black Lives Matter protester and is making national headlines in the wake of Gov. Greg Abbott saying he wants to pardon him, sent private messages for years containing racist memes and defending the killing of protesters and Muslims, a newly unsealed set of court documents shows.

The 76 pages filed by Travis County prosecutors also reveal messages dating back years in which Perry, an Army sergeant, talked about killing people — several times referencing a desire to kill Muslims.

In a 2019 message, for example, Perry wrote it was "to [sic] bad we can't get paid for hunting Muslims in Europe."

The documents released Thursday were filed on March 27, when prosecutors announced their intent to introduce messages and posts they'd gathered from Perry's cellphone. Some of Perry’s messages were presented during his trial, including a May 31, 2020, social media post where he said he might have to kill people. But the newly unsealed filing contains dozens of other posts and messages that weren’t presented publicly.

Each piece of evidence is listed separately in the 76 pages. They include Internet searches for news about George Floyd-related protests, posts of memes that appear to encourage or rationalize shooting protests, and Perry's own messages in which he talks about being angry and scared over the protests or writes about committing violence.

Perry on Friday was convicted in Austin in the killing of 28-year-old Garrett Foster in downtown Austin during a Black Lives Matter protest on July 25, 2020.

In a near-unprecedented move Saturday, Abbott said he would recommend that Perry be pardoned even though Perry has yet to be sentenced. Abbott tweeted Perry should have been protected by Texas' stand-your-ground laws because he was acting in self-defense. The governor blamed Perry's prosecution on a "progressive" district attorney.

The Chronicle has reached out to Abbott's office for comment. Perry’s attorney Doug O'Connell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Weeks before Foster's death, Perry in a May 2020 Facebook message exchange told a friend he "might have to kill a few people" who were rioting outside his apartment complex.

The friend wrote to Perry: "Can you catch me a negro daddy."

"That is what I am hoping," Perry responded.

Other messages talked of going to Dallas "to shoot looters" and included "white power" memes.

Social media posts compared BLM movement to monkeys

Some of Perry’s social media posts have been public knowledge for years. Soon after he was identified as the person who shot Foster, activists flagged tweets in which Perry said that protesters from New York or Minneapolis should be sent to Texas.

“Send them to Texas we will show them why we say don’t mess with Texas,” Perry said. He was responding to a tweet by former President Donald Trump, in which Trump wrote that “protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes” in Democrat-led cities would face “a much different scene if they were in Oklahoma.

On May 30, 2020, he referred to protests and riots as “monkey s---” after writing that his favorite barbershop had been burned down. Days later, he compared the Black Lives Matter movement to a “zoo full of monkeys” and said people were acting like “animals at the zoo.”

Perry wrote that he initially supported the protest movement, but changed his stance when rioting and looting began.

Other items that filing says messages were found on Perry’s phone include a undated meme that uses the n-word and complains about Black people being racist; a meme that advises people “pick up your brass” if they encounter rioters; and a May 29 text to another person that shows a photo of a building with a sign on it that says “WHITE POWER, White county power … light co.”

Jury found killing of Garret Foster was murder, not self-defense

In July 2020, Perry was driving for Uber when he made a right turn into an intersection full of protesters in downtown Austin. Foster, who was a protester, approached the driver’s side of Perry’s car while carrying an AK-47 rifle. Perry rolled down the window and, seconds later, used a revolver next to him to shoot and kill Foster.

Both Perry and Foster were legally armed, and Perry claimed that the shooting was in self-defense. More than a year after the shooting, he was indicted and charged with murder and aggravated assault.

During a 10-day trial, Perry’s defense team attempted to portray the protesters as an angry mob and said Foster was carrying his rifle in a threatening manner, which meant Perry had the right to shoot him under Texas’ self-defense laws. Prosecutors contended that Perry deliberately drove into a group of peaceful protesters and lost his right to self-defense by provoking the confrontation with Foster.

Perry was found guilty by the jury last week.

Perry's attorneys have filed a motion for a new trial, arguing they should have been allowed to present evidence they said proved Foster was the aggressor in the confrontation between the two men.