Karmelo Anthony is set to begin trial June 1 for the April 2025 fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a track meet. The case has drawn significant social media attention from the start.
By Jane Harper,
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
The Karmelo Anthony case has been discussed and dissected every day on social media in the year since the Frisco teenager was accused of fatally stabbing another athlete at a high school track meet, according to a local civil rights activist who monitors the activity.
Anthony is charged with murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at an April 2, 2025 meet that both teens were competing in. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
Much of the information shared on social media about the case has been false, Dominique Alexander said Thursday at a news conference he scheduled ahead of Anthony’s trial, set for June 1. And much of it has sought to intensify the already heightened racial tension that’s been at the core of the case from the beginning, he said. Metcalf was white; Anthony is Black.
In the days and weeks after the stabbing, the Anthony family reported receiving numerous death threats. Supporters of Metcalf held a “Protect White Americans” protest in Frisco, which Metcalf’s father condemned for making race a key issue in the case. There were multiple reports of the Metcalf family being “swatted,” which refers to the act of making malicious false reports to authorities to draw a significant police response, and the address of the judge who lowered Anthony’s bond was posted online.
The presiding judge in the case, state District Judge John Roach Jr., set strict rules for the trial, as well as expectations for how those in attendance should conduct themselves during the proceedings.
The judge cited the “substantial” amount of attention the case had generated in the media and the public as reason for the rules, and said they were meant to protect courtroom security, juror privacy and Anthony’s right to a fair trial.
In July, he issued a gag order in the case that prevents anyone associated with the prosecution and defense from speaking about the case publicly. The order applies to the attorneys, witnesses, law enforcement and court staff.
Alexander, president of Next Generation Action Network, a Dallas-based civil rights organization he founded, said he scheduled the press conference to urge people to be respectful of the legal process and to let it play out fairly in court. The Anthony family had to move to an undisclosed location and Anthony’s father no longer can go to his workplace because of all the threats they have received, he said. Alexander said he’s not representing Anthony’s family.
“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,” he said.
The trial will be held at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney. It’s expected to last about two weeks.
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