Visiting Judge Sid Harle from Bexar County ruled in favor of recusing Collin County Judge John Roach Jr. from Karmelo Anthony's appeal of his murder conviction.
Nineteen-year-old Anthony was found guilty of murder for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco high school track meet. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Roach enforced strict rules for the courtroom during the trial, including limiting media access and restricting public access to the small number of seats in the courtroom left over once media and family members were seated. He also issued a gag order barring people involved in the trial from posting about it on social media or speaking to the media, citing the intense scrutiny of the trial and its potential impact on its outcome.
Two days after the verdict — during the time period where Anthony could file a motion for a new trial — Roach gave an interview with WFAA about the trial. Anthony's new defense attorney, Russel Wilson, had argued Roach violated judicial conduct rules by giving the interview.
Wilson on Wednesday said that Roach had publicly weighed in on the very questions that are sought to be resolved in the appeal.
In the WFAA interview, Roach talked about social media rumors that he knew the Metcalf family personally. Roach said that wasn't true.
"You are here on TV talking about something on Facebook," Wilson said about Roach. "That's a problem."
Harle said he believed Roach was attempting to educate the public, an exception to conduct rules, but said it didn't pass the test of a neutral third party's view of his impartiality.
"Under that limited finding, I'm going to grant the recusal," he said.
Lead prosecutor Bill Wirskye defended the judge's conduct.
"From where we sit, those of us who lived it, he didn't do anything wrong," he said.
The case has drawn national attention over issues of race. Anthony is Black and Metcalf was white. Many posts on social media have racist undertones.
A protest organized by a group called "Protect White Americans" — purportedly to condemn the stabbing of Austin Metcalf as an act of racial violence — attracted more police officers and media representatives than supporters in Frisco in April 2025.
But it did lead to an angry exchange between the protest organizers and Jeff Metcalf, the father of the victim.
Jake Lang, who was among the people pardoned by President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Phillip Anderson, whose Jan. 6 case was dismissed, spokefrom atop a bus in the parking lot of David Kuykendall Stadium on Saturday where the stabbing occurred.
Lang told Jeff Metcalf, Austin’s father, over the phone that his son’s stabbing was an act of anti-white violence. Lang said that Metcalf should be standing on the bus with Lang and Anderson.
Metcalf, who spoke to Lang via speaker phone at the protest, told Lang he doesn’t condone Lang’s politicizing Austin’s killing.
“You’re trying to create more race divide than bridging the gap,” Metcalf said.
Lang said Metcalf was weak for not supporting his cause.
“You’re creating more Austin Metcalfs with your weakness, sir,” he told the grieving father.
The stabbing has received national attention online. Anthony is Black and Metcalf was white.
None of the jurors were Black. NBC News reported the state struck down three potential Black jurors during jury selection because they were educators. The defense objected, but Judge John Roach Jr. allowed the jurors to be struck.
A hearing on a separate motion for a new trial is scheduled for Thursday. In that motion, Anthony's attorneys focused on the question of public access to Anthony's original trial.
This is a developing story and may be updated with more information.
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