Killing of Garrett Foster

Overview

The Killing of Garrett Foster occurred on July 25th, 2020 at a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas. A motorist shot and killed Foster, an armed Black Lives Matter protester, who reportedly approached the car with an AK-47. The driver allegedly drove through a crowd of protesters, and Foster was among those who attempted to confront them. His death and video footage of the shooting, which was live-streamed, circulated online widely in the hours after the shooting.

Background

On July 25th, 2020, Foster attended a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin, Texas. Abiding by state law, Foster, carried an AK-47 assault rifle at the event. Independent journalist Hiram Gilberto interviewed Foster about bringing guns to protests on July 11th (shown below).

Garrett Foster, the #BlackLivesMatter protester who was shot and killed last night in Austin, TX, was interviewed with his legally-carried AK47 by imhiramlive</a> on July 11. Wonder if the <a href="https://twitter.com/NRA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">NRA will defend him. #AustinShooting #2ndAmendment pic.twitter.com/FoEN1eWFsf

— Emperor Of Texas Y'all (@TexasEmperor) July 26, 2020

On the day of the protest, Gilberto interview Foster about the gun, again, where he discussed the need to "practice" his rights, such as the second amendment. He did not expect to use it.

Garrett Foster, the #BlackLivesMatter protester who was shot and killed tonight in Austin, TX, was interviewed with his AK47 (which he's been legally open-carrying to protests for a while) by @imhiramlive just yesterday. #2ndAmendment pic.twitter.com/IBckkkdNYG

— Emperor Of Texas Y'all (@TexasEmperor) July 26, 2020

On the night of July 25th, a driver shot and killed Foster. The New York Times^[1] writes, "The police and witnesses said the man in the car turned it aggressively toward the marchers, and Mr. Foster then approached it. The driver opened fire, shooting Mr. Foster three times. He was rushed to a hospital and was later pronounced dead." According to the New York Post,^[12] police arrested the driver and released them the following day "without charge." The driver claimed "self-defense."

Developments

Online Reaction

The shooting was captured on the Livestream by Hiram Gilberto (mirror below).

Someone just got shot live on @imhiramlive stream at #BlackLivesMatter march in Austin, TX! pic.twitter.com/UPY6d4BCmN

— Emperor Of Texas Y'all (@TexasEmperor) July 26, 2020

Following the shooting, some people began posting about Foster, expressing their grief. Twitter^[2] user @IamShaneMorris tweeted, "Tonight, we lost Garrett Foster in Austin. A fellow Texan. A white man who was standing up for his black wife, a paraplegic black woman. There is only one response to this: Keep showing up and being armed against fascists. Never backing down. Real talk, this shit got me crying." The tweet received more than 1,700 likes and 680 retweets in less than two days (shown below, left).

Twitter user @kyuhhwut tweeted,^[3] "garrett foster was murdered at a protest last night by a vigilante. he was the only caretaker of his partner, whitney, a quadruple amputee. garrett showed up for whitney, and he showed up for the community. let’s show up for him." The tweet, which included a link to a GoFundMe, received more than 14,000 likes and 11,000 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, center). The GoFundMe^[4] campaign has raised more than $108,000 in less than 24 hours.

In one post, Twitter user @_SJPeace_ tweeted,^[7] "Garrett Foster was murdered last night peacefully protesting at a BLACK LIVES MATTER protest in Austin, Texas with his fiance, whitney, who is a quadruple amputee because of serious medical negligence. She was thrown off her wheelchair and he was shot 3 times. SAY HIS NAME." The tweet received more than 100,000 likes and 53,000 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

Some criticized Foster, particularly those who appear critical of the Black Lives Matter protests. Online, many seemed to examine the video footage of Foster, stating that he pointed the gun at the driver. Conservative writer Carmine Sabia tweeted,^[5] "This is Garrett Foster, a terrorist who pointed a firearm at an armed man." The tweet received more than 3,000 likes and 1,000 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, left).

Twitter^[8] user @Luv_Duv tweeted a photograph of Foster that spread online. They wrote, "The photo fascists are circulating clearly shows Garrett Foster had his AK-47 pointed down, at the ground. If he were aiming it at the driver of the car, the barrel would be visible. Garret had 'trigger control,' unlike the man who murdered him" (shown below, center).

Writer and attorney Seth Abramson tweeted,^[6] BREAKING: Trump, Radical Extremist Ian Cheong Libel Deceased Garrett Foster, Should Expect Lawsuit Austin PD, per NYT: 'The driver opened fire from inside the car as Mr. Foster approached. Another person in the crowd pulled out a handgun and shot at the vehicle as it sped away.'" Abramson included a screenshot of the retweet of Cheong by President Trump" (shown below, right).

People also discussed the shooting on several subreddits, including /r/conservative,^[9] /r/austin^[10] and /r/socialism,^[11] all of which received more than 1,000 points.

Media Coverage

Several media outlets reported on the shooting, including New York Times,^[1] New York Post,^[12] USA Today,^[13] Washington Post,^[14] The Daily Beast^[15] and more.

Search Interest

Not available.

External References