Testimony in Karmelo Anthony trial begins amid scrutiny over non-Black jury

Civil Rights activists are raising the alarm after all Black jurors were dismissed in the Karmelo Anthony trial.

Testimony in the trial of Karmelo Anthony, a Texas teenager accused of fatally stabbing another teen at a track meet, has begun, and the proceedings are becoming increasingly polarized.

On Friday, June 5, the second day of testimony began with three people being removed from the courtroom. According to NBC News, a blogger, someone suspected of using a cellphone to record proceedings, and another individual who allegedly directed a racial slur at a deputy were all asked to leave.

Before Friday’s rocky start, however, concerns were already mounting online over the makeup of the jury. It was revealed ahead of opening testimony on Thursday that none of the 18 jurors selected — 11 women and seven men — are Black, though several are people of color, according to the Dallas Morning News. Anthony, 19, is Black, while Austin Metcalf, the teen he is accused of fatally stabbing, was white.

Next Generation Action Network, a civil rights organization, said Wednesday in a post on X that it was “outraged” by the selection.

“The prosecution used its final strikes to remove the remaining qualified Black jurors from the jury pool, raising serious concerns about fairness and equal justice,” the group said. “We respect the court, but we will not remain silent.”

Meanwhile, prosecutor Bill Wirskye argued in court Thursday that race has no bearing on the case.

“This case has nothing to do with race,” Wirskye said, per the San Antonio observer. “This case is not self-defense. Unjustified provoked murder — that’s why we’re here this morning.”

Anthony was arrested in April 2025 after authorities alleged he fatally stabbed Metcalf during a confrontation on a rainy morning at a track meet in Frisco, Texas. According to multiple reports, the two athletes, who competed on rival teams, became involved in an altercation after Metcalf approached Anthony about sitting beneath the wrong team tent.

Prosecutors allege Anthony stabbed Metcalf in the chest before fleeing the scene. He was charged with first-degree murder.

Anthony, who posted $250,000 bound and has been living under house arrest, has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Mike Howard, argued during Thursday’s testimony that Anthony acted in self-defense.

“After Karmelo defended himself with that knife, he ran. He didn’t stab again. He dropped the knife. He didn’t stab anyone else,” Howard said.

More than a year later, the case has grown beyond a shocking local tragedy, drawing national attention and fueling intense debate over race, self-defense, and the criminal justice system.

From the outset, questions have lingered about whether race influenced anything that occurred that day, as well as public perception of the case and the legal proceedings in the aftermath.

Now, with renewed scrutiny focused on the all-non-Black jury, Black people paying attention to the case are sounding the alarm. Research has shown that often the presence of even one Black juror in a case involving a Black defendant can make the difference between a fair trial and an unfair one.

Regardless of race, every juror enters a courtroom with their own biases and lived experiences. Excluding all Black jurors does little to eliminate that reality, critics argue, but having those perspectives represented on the jury could help balance it.

Because Anthony was 17 at the time of the incident, and Texas law allows 17-year-olds to be tried as adults, he faces a sentence ranging from five years to life in prison if convicted.