On the first day of trial for a Texas teen accused of murdering a student during a school track meet last year, jurors inside the courtroom heard the opening arguments in a racially divisive case.
Meanwhile, Americans outside the courtroom got a look at supporters of 19-year-old murder suspect Karmelo Anthony and an idea of exactly how racially charged the case is.
And if there were any doubts, the stream of racial slurs mixed with gutter obscenity from the Anthony backers made it unquestionably clear.
Targeting a white demonstrator across the street, one Anthony supporter verbally assailed the man, repeatedly calling him a “cracker” and, at one point, issuing a physical threat.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic language that will be disturbing to some viewers.
“Imma push you if I get close enough…push you right into that grave….f*ck you cracker…Neanderthal”
A large group of Karmelo Anthony supporters are screaming racial profanities at an organized“Metcalf rally” outside of the Collin County courthouse
One supporter screamed… pic.twitter.com/1cSlJaOGKH
— FRONTLINES TPUSA (@FrontlinesTPUSA) June 4, 2026
Anthony is black. The victim, Austin Metcalf, was white. Anthony’s family has claimed “white supremacy” is behind prosecutors’ efforts to send him to prison for taking a young man’s life away over a school spat.
And judging by the amount of money that has poured in from Anthony supporters, it appears many agree. And some of them were on hand outside the Collin County courthouse in McKinney, Texas.
At another point, the small crowd began to chant: “We love our black youth, they deserve protection, too.”
“We love our black youth, they deserve protection too!”
Karmelo Anthony supporters are currently chanting outside of the Collin County courthouse about how black youth deserve to be protected.
They lashed out at another local reporter today and are being aggressive with any… pic.twitter.com/aJhwV6irsF
— FRONTLINES TPUSA (@FrontlinesTPUSA) June 4, 2026
Anthony, who was 17 at the time, is accused of stabbing Metcalf to death on April 2, 2025, at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, about two hours north of Waco in the central part of the state.
During a rain delay, Anthony, then a student at Frisco’s Centennial High School, ducked into a tent reserved for track athletes from Frisco’s Memorial High School.
A confrontation ensued, and Anthony, who had brought a knife with him to the meet, plunged the blade into Metcalf’s chest. Metcalf died in his twin brother’s arms.
There has never been serious doubt about the basic facts of the case — Anthony confessed to the stabbing to a police officer but said he was protecting himself.
The question being resolved at trial is whether it was legally murder or self-defense. Anthony faces life in prison if he’s convicted.
A panel of 12 jurors and six alternates was selected on Wednesday, according to a report from Fort Worth-based KTVT-TV in Fort Worth. None of the members is black.
After opening arguments Thursday, the jurors were shown a number of videos of the encounter. However, it wasn’t clear how much the videos would help determine the strength of Anthony’s “self-defense” argument.
“None of the videos we’ve seen today show the altercation or the stabbing,” Austin’s KVUE-TV reported. “The images in the video are not clear because they have to be magnified to see them. Also, it was raining that April day in 2025, and there are people walking and holding umbrellas as they cross the tent at the bottom of the bleachers.”
Given the racial tensions already surrounding the case — as evidenced by the small but vocal contingent of Anthony supporters outside the courthouse on Thursday as well as the social media users who responded to them — the racial makeup of the jury is likely to be part of the reaction, no matter how the verdict comes in.
From the beginning, however, Metcalf’s family — at least — has tried to tone down the racial element.
“This was not a race thing, this was not a political thing,” he told Fox News’ “America Reports” on April 3 of last year.
“Please do not comment if you do not know what happened.”
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