AUSTIN, Texas — Tuesday marked the first day of the trial in the death of protester Garrett Foster. 

During the summer of 2020, during a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Austin, Uber driver Daniel Perry drove into a crowd and fatally shot the 28-year-old.

The long-awaited trial could have major implications for gun rights as both the protester and the shooter were carrying guns.

Perry says he was standing his ground and feared for his life. Foster’s family says he never lifted his weapon.

Spectrum News spoke exclusively to Foster’s mom ahead of the trial, where she is staying in Austin during the duration of court proceedings. Sheila Foster used to love cooking for her son, Garrett. Now what was once one of her biggest joys is a painful reminder that she will never get to make a meal for him again.

“It’s just not something that I derive any joy from, like I used to,” she said.

Sheila drove down from Dallas to Austin a few days before jury selection. She and her family have waited for nearly three years for this day to come.

“Nobody could have prepared me for what it feels like,” she said.

Now that it’s here, she says it’s the feeling is surreal.

“I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe this is my life,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes. “I can’t believe we’re doing this for my child.”

Not only has her family experienced the grief of losing a loved one, they have also faced harassment online. Sheila showed us a graphic photo of a dead body and an obscene message someone sent just last month to her private Facebook account. She and her family have received countless threatening and demeaning messages since Garrett’s death.

“Who sends something like this to a grieving mother? Honestly, who does that?” Sheila exclaimed.

The most important thing to her now is to show everyone how passionate and giving her son was, always wanting to helping people, even as a little boy. Most of all, Sheila wants to share Garrett’s love for his partner, Whitney. She lost all of her limbs from a rare disease.

Sheila says Whitney was a big part of why Garrett started protesting against systemic racism and police brutality. The couple attended dozens of protests together.

“They chose to be marching in the Texas summer heat for 50 straight days,” Sheila said.  

In court, Perry’s lawyers argued he was fearful for his life when he saw Foster with an assault rifle, which is why he opened fire. Perry’s attorney declined to comment on the case.

During trial, they told the jury —  comprised of nine women, four men, and only one Black person —  the crowd was aggressively surrounding Perry’s car and Foster threatened him with his AK-47.  

The defense claims Perry had tactical gear he could have used, but it was in his trunk, because he wasn’t searching for trouble, he was trying to avoid the crowd.

In opening statements, the state presented evidence that Perry posted anti-protest rhetoric on social media, including a conversation with someone online about a similar incident in Seattle where a person drove into a crowd of protesters and he argued in defense of the driver. The state alluded this shows Perry’s actions were intentional and premeditated.

“I didn’t even realize we had that kind of hate in this world until my son died,” Sheila said.

Foster’s lawyers say Garrett never used his gun and that he only had it for protection, as is his Second Amendment right in Texas.  

However, for Sheila, this case isn’t about the Second Amendment as much as it is about the First, and about how political divide and hatred has taken so many lives.

“I think it’s probably just going to be the rest of my life, where I’m just never gonna stop missing my son, and always wishing he was here,” Sheila sobbed. “And this trial is not gonna to change that.”

The Travis County Judge estimates the trial will take about two weeks.