One of Tucker Carlson’s last Fox News acts? Asking Gov. Greg Abbott for a rare pardon

Hours after Daniel Perry was convicted of murder earlier this month for shooting an armed man in Austin during a protest in summer 2020, Fox News host Tucker Carlson aimed his influential megaphone directly at Gov. Greg Abbott.

“It means that in the state of Texas, if you have the wrong politics, you’re not allowed to defend yourself,” Carlson said of Perry’s conviction. He mentioned extending Abbott an invitation to appear on his show, adding Abbott’s office declined to make him available.

“So that is Greg Abbott’s position: there is no right of self-defense in Texas,” Carlson said.

The next afternoon, Abbott announced he had directed the state Board of Pardons and Paroles to launch a review of Perry’s conviction, adding he would sign a pardon order as soon as it appeared on his desk.

Neither Abbott nor his office have explained the reasoning behind his decision to request the pardon — a rare step for the governor, who has used that executive power sparingly during his time in office — or whether the monologue from Carlson — whose departure from Fox News was announced on April 24 — was the impetus behind it. But it demonstrates how influential Carlson was, even without a president who watches his show regularly, said a researcher who studies Carlson.

“I’ve said a lot recently that Tucker Carlson is the leader of the Republican Party right now, and Republican politicians need him desperately more than he needs them,” said Andrew Lawrence, a senior researcher at the left-leaning nonprofit Media Matters for America, adding Carlson’s influence has even grown since former President Donald Trump left office. “There’s a kind of power vacuum without Trump there, and Tucker Carlson fills it.”

Perry, a U.S. Army sergeant, was working as a ride-share driver during the summer of 2020, amid a national uprising against police violence and racial injustice following the police murder of George Floyd. Perry turned down a street where a demonstration was taking place, and Garrett Foster approached his car carrying a Kalashnikov-style rifle.

Perry shot Foster with his revolver, killing him. His lawyers said he was acting in self-defense; prosecutors said Perry could have removed himself from the situation before opening fire, and witnesses have said Foster never raised his rifle toward Perry.

Carlson drew his influence from his primetime slot on Fox News, and his show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, consistently took the top spot in cable-news rankings. Policy decisions, executive actions and public statements from Republican politicians sometimes follow Carlson bringing up up an issue on his show.

Media Matters provided several examples of this: following months of public and private lobbying from Carlson to Trump, urging the then-president to fire his national security advisor John Bolton, Trump did so in 2019. Last summer, Carlson pointed out the lack of diversity in progressive hub Martha’s Vineyard. “Why not send migrants there, in huge numbers?” he asked. Months later, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did exactly that.

Carlson confronted Sen. Ted Cruz after Cruz described the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol as a terrorist attack and the rioters as terrorists. Cruz retracted those sentiments on Carlson’s show, calling them “frankly, dumb.” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy released files and videos related to the insurrection and created a House subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government after Carlson brought up both ideas on his show.

Shortly after Carlson pressed Abbott on the state’s handling of a migrant crisis on the border, Abbott approved a $480 million boost to Operation Lone Star.

“What happens on Tucker Carlson, what he says, is going to end up coming out of Republican politicians’ mouths in the next day or two,” Lawrence said.

He said Carlson has also been instrumental in advocating for legislation across the country seeking to ban gender-affirming care for children, restrict drag shows and limit the teaching in school of topics touching on racism.

“I don’t think any of this stuff would be happening at the state level if it wasn’t for Tucker Carlson and Fox News,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed.