Karmelo Anthony, the 17-year-old suspect in a fatal stabbing that occurred at a track meet in Texas earlier this month, has been moved to an undisclosed location for his safety amid increased threats.
On Monday, April 21, a representative for Anthony’s family announced in a press release that the courts approved for the Frisco teen to be moved from his home to an undisclosed location to “ensure his immediate safety,” per Fox 4.
Next Generation Action Network, a civil and human rights organization in North Texas that has been providing support and protection to the family said in the release that over the past several days, there has been an “alarming increase in death threats, continued harassment, and physical intimidation targeted at the family’s home.”
The harassment has included people stopping by the Anthony’s home, loitering, taking photos, attempting to make false food deliveries, individuals circling the home, and sending disturbing items in the mail, including the victim, Austin Metcalf’s obituary, Fox 4 reported.
NGAN said its internal security team has been working with the local authorities to ensure the family’s safety.
“It is both heartbreaking and infuriating to see the depths of hate and bigotry still alive and well in our society,” said Minister Dominique Alexander, President of NGAN. “No family should have to live under siege simply because they are demanding their constitutional rights. We will not be silent, and we will not back down. We are committed to doing whatever is necessary to protect this family and to ensure that justice is pursued without intimidation or fear.”
On Friday, April 2, it’s alleged that Anthony, who is Black, fatally stabbed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, who is white, during an intense encounter between the two during a rain delay at a track meet. Anthony has maintained that he acted in self-defense during the incident.
Tensions in the public ramped up particularly when Anthony, who was initially charged and booked under a $1 million bond, was released from jail on a newly reduced bond of $250,000. His family held a press conference on Thursday, pleading with the public to stop harassing them as they navigate this trying time.
“Whatever you think … happened between Karmelo and the Metcalf boys, my three younger children, my husband and I didn’t do anything to deserve to be threatened, harassed and lied about,” Kala Hayes, mother of Anthony, said during the press conference.
“I don’t know why we are being targeted and discriminated against before our fair trial, our son deserves the same rights under the law that everyone is afforded,” she continued.
On Saturday, a rally led by Jake Lang’s Protect White America organization was held at the stadium where the deadly incident occurred. The protesters were calling for Anthony to be sent back to jail as he awaits a grand jury’s decision on whether or not to indict him.
According to the Dallas Morning News, the event was attended mostly by people not from Frisco. Lang, a January 6 rioter and current U.S. Senate hopeful, flew in from Florida for the event. He is said to have given remarks touting claims that Black Americans are disproportionately violent toward white Americans.
During the protest, Jeff Metcalf, father of Austin Metcalf, was called, and he promptly told the organizers over speakerphone that he condemned their actions, The Dallas Morning News reported.
“You’re trying to create more race divide than bridging the gap,” he said. “I do not condone anything you do.”
From groups like Lang’s declaring the Metcalf’s son’s death is a symbol of “violent Black culture” toward white America to swatting calls sending the authorities to their home multiple times, the Metcalf family has also been experiencing their fair share of unwanted attention.
