Karmelo Anthony Trial Exemplifies Justice System Inequities For Black Texans
By Tatum Owens & Chris Mosser|Progress Texas Photos: YouTube Screenshots On June 9th, 2026 a jury in Collin County sentenced Karmelo Anthony, a Frisco teenager, to 35 years in prison to life, finding him guilty for the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet in April 2025. This case was bombarded by public attention and racist vitriol online, and sparked intense debate about the deep systemic flaws built into our justice system that fail to deliver justice for Black Texans. Frisco and Collin County, are a rapidly diversifying part of Texas and have become a flashpoint for racial tension. That’s the setting for this trial, which featured an all-white jury for the sentence of this Black 19-year-old. The state through State District Judge John Roach Jr. (an elected judge, vs. appointed) sifted through 600 Collin County residents, and struck the only remaining Black candidates left in the jury pool, three Black women, citing the “race-neutral” reason that the three were educators. And with that the trial ensued, with opening arguments on June 4. Overview of the Karmelo Anthony Trial Elissa Jorgensen, Sarah Bahari, Chase Rogers at The Dallas Morning News reported on the details of the case, sharing that both teenagers were 17 at the time of the killing on April 2, 2026. That’s when, witnesses say, that “Metcalf pushed Anthony, who said Anthony then pulled out a [pocket]knife and stabbed him in the chest. The teens, both from Frisco, didn’t know each other.” Prosecutors argued that Anthony provoked the confrontation: which according to Texas law, would name him the aggressor and incapable of arguing self-defense. Meanwhile, Anthony’s defense attorneys claimed self-defense, saying he made a split-second decision in the face of a threat from teenagers larger than him. Anthony did not testify, with only his mother, Kala Hayes speaking for him to the jury. Their family was especially subjected to the gratuitous, violent misinformation campaign online from @LibsofTikTok and its ilk, which featured falsified autopsy reports, fake Instagram screenshots, and even death threats...READ MORE
Black News 
By Tatum Owens & Chris Mosser|Progress Texas
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
On June 9th, 2026 a jury in Collin County sentenced Karmelo Anthony, a Frisco teenager, to 35 years in prison to life, finding him guilty for the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet in April 2025. This case was bombarded by public attention and racist vitriol online, and sparked intense debate about the deep systemic flaws built into our justice system that fail to deliver justice for Black Texans.
Frisco and Collin County, are a rapidly diversifying part of Texas and have become a flashpoint for racial tension. That’s the setting for this trial, which featured an all-white jury for the sentence of this Black 19-year-old. The state through State District Judge John Roach Jr. (an elected judge, vs. appointed) sifted through 600 Collin County residents, and struck the only remaining Black candidates left in the jury pool, three Black women, citing the “race-neutral” reason that the three were educators. And with that the trial ensued, with opening arguments on June 4.
Overview of the Karmelo Anthony Trial
Elissa Jorgensen, Sarah Bahari, Chase Rogers at The Dallas Morning News reported on the details of the case, sharing that both teenagers were 17 at the time of the killing on April 2, 2026. That’s when, witnesses say, that “Metcalf pushed Anthony, who said Anthony then pulled out a [pocket]knife and stabbed him in the chest. The teens, both from Frisco, didn’t know each other.” Prosecutors argued that Anthony provoked the confrontation: which according to Texas law, would name him the aggressor and incapable of arguing self-defense. Meanwhile, Anthony’s defense attorneys claimed self-defense, saying he made a split-second decision in the face of a threat from teenagers larger than him.
Anthony did not testify, with only his mother, Kala Hayes speaking for him to the jury. Their family was especially subjected to the gratuitous, violent misinformation campaign online from @LibsofTikTok and its ilk, which featured falsified autopsy reports, fake Instagram screenshots, and even death threats...READ MORE
