A Black teenager’s alleged fatal stabbing of a white teenager at a high school track meet in Frisco has gained national attention. And the online vitriol over what role race played in the attack has led to real life consequences for the families of both the perpetrator and victim.
Seventeen-year-old Austin Metcalf was fatally stabbed at a high school track meet in Frisco in early April. Karmelo Anthony, a 17-year-old high school senior, is charged with first-degree murder in that stabbing.
Metcalf was white and Anthony is Black. Metcalf’s father has said multiple times his son’s death wasn’t about race. And the arrest report obtained by KERA doesn’t mention witness statements about race being a factor. But thousands online still assume otherwise. Some criminal justice experts say that’s symptomatic of racial and cultural divisions that have become more pronounced as the Trump Administration seeks to dismantle many diversity policies.
Online Vitriol
The seven- page incident report about the attack obtained by KERA didn’t mention race except in brief descriptions of Anthony as a Black male.
But the Anthony family has faced a barrage of racist attacks online. Jake Lang, who was among the people pardoned by President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, has posted about the case repeatedly on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling Anthony a “black thug” and Metcalf “another victim of Black Violence in America.” His posts about Anthony have received thousands of likes and shares online.
Kala Hayes, Anthony’s mother, told reporters at a press conference the rampant misinformation online has put her family in jeopardy. Her husband, Andrew Anthony, had to take a leave of absence from work. The family is considering moving out of their home because of the numerous death threats. Karmelo, who’s currently on house arrest, was moved to an undisclosed location after receiving threats.
"My 13-year-old daughter is afraid to sleep in her own bedroom because she is fearful of what might happen to her,” Hayes told the reporters while sobbing.
Several people online have accused the Anthony family of using funds from a GiveSendGo campaign that raised about $500,000 on a new house and a Cadillac. But Hayes said at the press conference in mid-April the family still didn’t have access to the money.
Professor Brandie Nonnecke from the University of California at Berkley said people are hardwired to pay attention to things that are shocking. Nonnecke is the director of Berkley’s CITRIS lab, where she directs the Tech Policy Initiative. She said people have a frequency bias — the more content circulates online, the more likely it’s believed.
“On social media platforms, if you have something that's starting to go viral, that's shocking, salacious, scary, and you keep seeing it over and over and again, it is a power peg for the spread of disinformation and for the public to engage more with that material and potentially believe it,” Nonnecke said.
Karmelo’s attorney, Mike Howard, told Collin County Judge Angela Tucker during Anthony’s bond hearing most of the funds from the GiveSendGo fundraiser would go toward legal expenses.
Howard told reporters after the bond hearing the online vitriol has harmful consequences.
“Threats and talk of race war and all kinds of insanity isn't good for obviously the Anthony family,” he said. “It's not good for the Metcalf family. It’s not good for the peace and safety of our community. So I would ask, and I know both sides would ask, that the temperature on this be allowed to come down.”
The judge who lowered Anthony’s bail from $1 million to $250,000, Angela Tucker, a two-time Governor Greg Abbott appointee, has also received threats. The FBI has confirmed that it’s assisting Collin County authorities in an investigation of the threats.
The Frisco Police Department confirmed a home associated with the Metcalf family has been swatted three times.
Lauren Shapiro, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice who specializes in security, said swatting calls take a psychological toll on the victims and emergency personnel involved. There’s also a financial cost.
“For every village, town, whatever area that jurisdiction is, it costs a minimum of $20,000 just to handle a SWAT situation,” Shapiro said.
Metcalf has faced criticism online for condemning the racist attacks against the Anthony family.
And supporters of Anthony have posted online that Austin Metcalf and his twin brother, Hunter Metcalf, called Anthony racial slurs, prompting Anthony to defend himself with a cleat knife.
None of the witness statements included in the arrest report obtained by KERA support that narrative. Witnesses told police Anthony pulled out a knife after Metcalf either grabbed or pushed Anthony, who was sitting in the Memorial High School track team’s tent, according to an arrest report obtained by KERA. That allegedly was after Anthony told Metcalf “touch me and see what happens.” The witnesses told police they didn’t realize Anthony had a weapon.
Anthony asked officers if Metcalf, who died from his injuries, was going to be OK, according to the arrest report. The report said he also confessed to stabbing Metcalf, responding “I’m not alleged, I did it” when the arresting officer referred to him as the alleged suspect. Anthony said he acted in self-defense.
“As we were walking to the squad car, the suspect was emotional and said, ‘he put his hands on me, I told him not to,” the report said.
Racial Divide
Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, a professor of constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the race of the victim and the perpetrator plays a role in the divisive online discourse.
“There are white on white crimes, there are Black on Black crimes, Latino on Latino crimes, but when the victim is white, that's going to gain national attention when the suspect is Black or a person of color — because race is one of those issues in this country,” Browne-Marshall said.
An executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the federal government amplified that issue.
“Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect,” the executive order read.
Trump also issued several executive orders restricting immigration early in his second term, including limitations on birthright citizenship and asylum. One executive order states the influx of immigrants threatens national security and public safety.
Browne-Marshall said Trump’s executive orders push the narrative that white people are victims of racial injustice.
And Jaya Davis, a criminal justice professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, said it’s unsurprising issues of racial divide would be applied in other areas, including Metcalf’s death.
“At a time when those messages are brought to the fore from very loud megaphones in our nation, then it is not surprising that that message embeds itself in other places,” Davis said.
She said people are more likely to see content online that confirms their beliefs. Social media algorithms are designed to show users posts they’re more likely to interact with to drive engagement. Davis said that increases the polarization online.
“It encourages individuals and groups to believe they have a superior position and not only don't consider information or perspectives outside of their view, but increasingly allows for people to gravitate to others that reinforce their position,” she said.
Outside Agitators
Lang, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Florida, traveled to Frisco to host a “Protect White Americans” protest at David Kuykendall Stadium where the attack occurred. He stood beside Phillip Anderson from Mesquite, whose Jan. 6 case was dismissed, atop a bus in the stadium parking lot on a cloudy Saturday. They spoke to a small group of supporters and counter protesters who were outnumbered by the press and police.
Frisco police officers stood in front of a barricade separating the few counter-protesters from the bus. Counter-protesters wearing K95 masks chanted “no lynch mob” and mocked Lang for the protest’s low turnout.
Trump wasn’t at the protest, but his presence was felt. The Protect White Americans bus was emblazoned with an image of Trump pumping his fist in the air after a bullet grazed his ear at a political rally. A pickup truck in the parking lot had Trump flags on its sides that fluttered in the wind throughout the event.
Some people at the protest appeared to have no interest in Anthony or Metcalf. One man held a hand-made sign calling for Jerusalem to be returned to Hebrews. A woman shouted about hating “the Jews.” Another man carried posters related to conspiracies about the phone company T-Mobile and a sign that said “I am not suicidal” in pink lettering. He and another attendee, a man in a wheelchair who is often seen outside Planned Parenthood, are regular sights in Collin County.
A camera on a tripod with a ring light was set up on the bus. Lang and Anderson livestreamed their remarks on social media.
“Please reshare this link online right now guys,” Lang said to the camera. “Get this out to as many people as possible.”
Nonnecke said people online will capitalize on something that’s viral to further their agenda.
“It's really a game of trying to capitalize of uncertainty or try to twist a story so that you can further support whatever cause you think you're fighting for,” Nonecke said.
Viral Spread
In a video that went viral online, Lang chastised Jeff Metcalf over the phone for not supporting his cause.
“I grew up as a 17-year-old young white man too, and I grew in fear of my life around Black people because they were killing and robbing people around me all the time,” he said. “And I don't understand how as a father you could sit idly by and not condemn the culture that killed your son.”
Metcalf responded by telling Lang he was part of the problem.
“You’re trying to create more race divide than bridging the gap,” he said. “I do not condone anything you do.”
Lang responded that Metcalf had white guilt.
“You’re creating more Austin Metcalfs with your weakness, sir” he told the grieving father.
Lang shared a video of the heated phone call on X, formerly known as Twitter. The post received almost ten thousand likes and 1,700 shares.
At the protest, Anderson, who is Black, said supporters of Protect White Americans’ cause have to hide in the shadows because of potential backlash.
“All these people that agree with us, but they're in their cars right now because they're afraid to be seen on camera because they are afraid that they'll lose their job,” he said. “They're afraid that someone will come to their home.”
Online spaces are more anonymous. There’s a physical distance between content and the users that interact with it. Nonnecke said the anonymity emboldens people.
“We all yell in the car, like when somebody cuts us off and we say things that we probably wouldn't say to someone's face,” she said.
Human Consequences
Nonnecke said misinformation lacks malice — the person sharing the content doesn’t know they’re sharing something that isn’t true. But disinformation intends to cause harm. She said creators of disinformation use the chaos of social media to their advantage.
Law enforcement in Frisco are grappling with the consequences of the confusion online. The Frisco Police Department shared a post on social media urging people to be cautious about what they read about the case on the Internet.
“Only official releases from verified accounts should be trusted,” the department said. “Do not contribute to the misinformation by spreading unconfirmed information.”
Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis has also cautioned the public to be wary of misinformation. He said in a social media post that Anthony, who’s 17, can’t receive the death penalty or life without parole under state and federal law. Anthony’s charge, first-degree murder, carries a maximum sentence of life in prison with parole eligibility after thirty years or half of the sentence.
“My office has a long track record of seeking the maximum sentence legally available in violent cases,” Willis said. “Any sentence we seek is based on the facts, the law, and what justice demands. But we won’t engage in political theater or make promises that violate the Constitution.”
Davis said the online discourse also creates roadblocks for the legal case.
"It creates a kind of a white noise,” she said. “It creates this blanket of additional interference."
Davis said it could be difficult to find an unbiased jury, which could lead to the case being moved to another jurisdiction, all of which could prolong the case.
“It’s going to increase the injury and harm that everyone who’s involved in this case is feeling or experiencing,” she said.
The Frisco stabbing continues to inspire online debates, trolling and falsehoods.
The Frisco Police Department is still investigating what happened. Willis told reporters at the bond hearing those findings will be presented to a grand jury.
Lang appears to have moved on to another tragedy — the stabbing of a white woman, Emily Carlson, by a Black man, Willie Holmes, in Chicago. He and Anderson recently went to the metro station where Carlson was stabbed and livestreamed the Protect White Americans memorial for her on X, just like they did for Austin Metcalf in Frisco.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
Caroline Love is a Report For America corps member for KERA News.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
