Karmelo Anthony, 19, was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Tuesday (June 9) after a Collin County jury convicted him of murder in the April 2025 stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas. Anthony's attorneys have filed an appeal of both the conviction and the sentence. In the hours since, a wave of public figures have spoken out — and the throughline in nearly every response is the same: race.
Anthony is Black. Metcalf was white. Every Black prospective juror was removed during selection. The jury deliberated for less than three hours.
Texas congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, who represents Dallas' 30th district, called the verdict "evidence of a broken system" in an interview with TMZ, saying race and venue played a decisive role in the outcome.
"Collin County is right north of Dallas County, and I can tell you that I have had cases that I felt like played out differently because of the counties that they were in, and unfortunately that was not the county for a Black boy," she said.
She argued the facts of the case warranted a manslaughter conviction, not murder, and that a 35-year sentence for a teenager who ducked under a tent during rain and didn't want to be put out by someone larger than him reflected a system with no mercy for Black boys who say they were afraid. In a separate livestream, she went further: "Black women, especially Black women who have Black male children, live in fear and agony every single day — a fear and agony that I promise you, the Metcalfs probably never spend a day living that way."
Rapper Cardi B didn't mince words on X either. "Wow! Just freakin wow! DISGUSTING…This is not justice, this is trying to make an example!!!" she wrote in a post that quickly racked up millions of views.
Dallas civil rights activist Dominique Alexander, founder of the Next Generation Action Network, said the case reinforced a painful pattern. "After Trayvon Martin and so many countless names, it has shown us that Black life is not safe in Collin County," he said. "It showed very clearly that a Black boy was allowed not one Black soul on a jury."
Anthony's parents, Kala Hayes and Andrew Anthony, spoke out in an emotional interview with BIN's Mimi Brown, saying they do not believe their son received a fair trial. "Absolutely not," Hayes said through tears. "We will not stop fighting for justice for my son." His father said the entire trial felt like a "setup."
The case inevitably drew comparisons to Kyle Rittenhouse — the white teenager acquitted of all charges in the 2020 Kenosha shootings after claiming self-defense. Rittenhouse rejected the parallel on X: "Karmelo Anthony comparisons are ridiculous. I defended myself after I was violently attacked by white antifa thugs with criminal records — and it was clear I'd die if I didn't defend myself. We are not the same."
The racial tension surrounding the case spilled beyond social media. Right-wing provocateur Jake Lang — a January 6 Capitol rioter later pardoned by President Trump — was arrested at Dallas Love Field airport on Tuesday and booked into Dallas County Jail on a felony terroristic threat charge. Anthony's family alleged Lang had threatened to shoot Anthony in the head if he wasn't convicted.
Anthony's attorneys have already filed their appeal. His family has vowed to keep fighting.
The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.