First Thing: Man who killed Black Lives Matter protester pardoned

Texas governor pardons Daniel Perry, who has been serving a 25-year sentence for murder. Plus, more David Copperfield accusations

Good morning.

A former US army sergeant who was convicted of murder for fatally shooting an armed demonstrator in 2020 during nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice has been pardoned by the Texas governor, Greg Abbott.

Who is Daniel Perry? Court records showed that in the weeks leading up to the murder, Perry sent racist messages about protesters, shared white supremacist memes and talked about how he might have to kill a few people" who were demonstrating outside his house. He compared the Black Lives Matter movement to a zoo full of monkeys that are freaking out flinging their shit".

Were other people killed during the Black Lives Matter protests? The shooting was one of at least 25 killings of Americans during political protests and unrest in 2020, amid thousands of overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrations over the police killing of George Floyd.

The backlash. The move drew immediate criticism from pro-Israel groups, who accused the SJP of glorifying Hamas and discriminating against Jewish students. The Anti-Defamation League told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that Lee capitulated to protesters and agreed to a dangerous set of demands in one of the most offensive and outrageous agreements to date with encampment protesters."

Senator weighs in, too. California state senator Scott Wiener accused Sonoma State of aligning the campus with the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign, which he described as a movement whose goal is the destruction of Israel."