A civil rights activist has stepped in to advocate for a 'fair trial' for the black teenager who admitted to killing a high school football star at a Texas track meet. Karmelo Anthony is charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf during an April 2025 high school track meet in Frisco, a wealthy suburb north of Dallas.
Anthony's first-degree murder trial is scheduled to begin on June 1 and is expected to last two weeks. If convicted, the 19-year-old could face up to life in prison. Civil rights activist Minister Dominique Alexander held a press conference on Thursday, urging the public to respect the legal process and allow it to play out fairly in court.
Alexander alleged that social media has been inundated with misinformation about the case that aims to intensify already heightened racial tension, according to The Dallas Morning News. 'As an advocacy organization, our role is to ensure that Karmelo Anthony is afforded a fair trial, free from prejudice, bias, misinformation, racial hostility, or any outside influence that could impact the outcome of this case,' the activist told reporters.
The Anthony family reportedly received multiple death threats in the weeks following the stabbing. Supporters of the Metcalf family held a 'Protect White Americans' rally in the days after his death. The teen's father condemned the demonstrators for making the case about race.
Despite the teenage boys not knowing each other, their deadly encounter has stoked racial tensions and generated enormous interest across the country. The case has become a lightning rod for political debate, with supporters rallying behind Anthony claiming he has been treated unfairly due to his race. Meanwhile, the Metcalf family has been victimized by swatting multiple times since the stabbing, the newspaper reported. Swatting is a crime in which a perpetrator makes a false report to 911 to draw a significant police response at an unsuspecting victim's residence.
Similarly, the judge who lowered Anthony's bond was doxxed by internet users who posted his home address online. Metcalf's image has also been used by far-right figures including Jake Lang, despite condemnation from Metcalf's father, who said he was creating 'more race divide than bridging the gap.'
Anthony's lawyer Mike Howard said last year: 'The factual and legal issues involved in this case are not about race. The case involves two kids, one white, one black, so it's understandable that some people would make it about race or discuss it in terms of race.' With all the public scrutiny, the judge in the murder case has issued an order tightly regulating public conduct during the criminal proceedings.
The altercation between Metcalf and Anthony stemmed from Anthony, who did not attend Memorial High School, sitting under the team tent for Memorial High School students, police have stated. Metcalf was stabbed in the chest following a verbal altercation with Anthony. Anthony has been under house arrest since he was released from jail a year ago.
'This Court finds that this case has generated substantial public and media attention and that unrestricted access or activity may compromise courtroom security, juror privacy, and the Defendant's right to a fair trial,' District Judge John Roach Jr., who is presiding over the trial, wrote in a court order last month. The judge ordered that no recording, broadcasting, or photography be allowed in the courtroom during the trial. Additionally, only nine members of credentialed media will be allowed in the courtroom per day, and the court will decide who is credentialed. He also set strict rules about decorum for those who attend the proceedings.
Metcalf was fatally stabbed on April 2 last year at a school stadium in Frisco. Students from several high schools in the Frisco Independent School District were competing in a track race when the stabbing occurred. According to an arrest report, a witness said that when Anthony sat under the tent belonging to Metcalf's team, Metcalf told Anthony to move, and Anthony replied: 'Touch me and see what happens.' Metcalf then touched Anthony, and Anthony said to punch him and see what happens, the arrest report said. A short time later, Metcalf grabbed Anthony, and Anthony stabbed him with a knife, the report said. Afterward, Anthony told an officer that he was protecting himself and that Metcalf had 'put his hands on me,' according to the report.
Anthony was arrested shortly after the attack, telling arresting officers who called him the alleged killer, 'I'm not alleged. I did it.' The killer was 17 at the time of the incident. He maintains he acted in self-defense during the altercation at the high school meet in the affluent Dallas suburb. However, he has yet to explain why he brought a weapon to a school-sanctioned event. Anthony was released from jail and placed on house arrest after his bond was reduced.
