The organization representing the family of Karmelo Anthony — a 17-year-old accused of stabbing and killing teenager Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Texas — said on Monday that he has had to be moved from his home due to threats he's been receiving.
The family and its representatives are "gravely concerned" for Anthony's wellbeing and have moved him to an undisclosed location to "ensure his immediate safety,” according to a press statement.
Anthony was released into house arrest last week after his bond was reduced.
According to Next Generation Action Network, a civil and human rights organization in north Texas working with Anthony's family during his trial, there has been an "alarming increase in death threats, continued harassment, and physical intimidation targeted at the family's home."
The group told Fox 4 that some of the harassment included people showing up at the family's home, people loitering and taking photos of the house, faking fast food deliveries, and sending disturbing mail.
"We are sharing images and documentation of the threats the family has faced this past weekend to make the public aware of the dangerous atmosphere that has been created — an atmosphere fueled by organized hate, systemic racism, and intentional misinformation," NGAN spokesperson Dominique Alexander said in a press statement.
Anthony allegedly stabbed Metcalf after the two became embroiled in an argument over a seat at a track meet at a Frisco high school. Metcalf died from his wounds, and Anthony was charged with murder.
“The situation reached such a dangerous level that the Anthony family was forced to evacuate Karmelo Anthony from his home over the weekend to an undisclosed location to ensure his immediate safety, approved by courts,” NGAN said in a press statement.
The case has been showing up regularly in conservative media since news of Metcalf's death broke.
Right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson tweeted “Death sentence. Send a message,” with a picture of Anthony. The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh used the incident to condemn young Black men as "wildly, outrageously" violent, writing: “Young black males are violent to a wildly, outrageously disproportionate degree. That’s just a fact. We all know it. And it’s time that we speak honestly about it, or nothing will ever change.”
A small group gathered at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas on Saturday to protest against Anthony. According to fliers being distributed for the event, one of its organizers was Jake Lang of Florida, who had previously been charged in connection to the Capitol riot before being pardoned by Donald Trump, although he never stood trial.
The group spread fliers on social media with slogans like; "Protect White Americans," "Justice for Austin Metcalf," "Demand Karmelo Anthony be put back in prison until trial," "peaceful protest" and "stop black violence on white Americans."
Jeff Metcalf, the father of the slain teen, called Lang and his group "race baiters" who "wanna spew their narrative for their own agenda," according to the New York Post.
During the demonstration, the elder Metcalf called in to the demonstration and called Lang a "white piece of trash” and denounced his movement. "I said, ‘You, sir, are part of the f***ing problem. You are not a part of the solution. I don’t want anything to do with you,'” Metcalf told the Post.
“You’re creating more Austin Metcalfs with your weakness, sir,” Lang responded, according to KERA News.
