High-profile reactions flood social media following Karmelo Anthony conviction, sentencing

Elected officials and celebrities have taken to social media in the hours following the conviction and sentencing decisions in the Karmelo Anthony murder trial to express both support and frustration.

Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison by a Collin County jury Tuesday for the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a Frisco track meet in April 2025.

Racial animosity and misinformation from across the country spread in the wake of the stabbing, fueling protests and verbal fights outside the courthouse and on social media. Anthony is Black. Metcalf was white.

Overnight, local civic organizations critiqued the verdict and legal process as local politicians labeled the ruling as justice being served. National politicians and celebrities are also weighing in with criticisms while the McKinney and Frisco communities process the case that captured national attention.

Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B posted on X early Wednesday morning, calling the verdict “DISGUSTING.” 

“This is not justice, this is trying to make an example!!!” she wrote. 

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who represents parts of Dallas, also took to social media Tuesday night, analyzing the ruling alongside lawyers and community justice advocates. Crockett, who previously worked as a public defender, said Anthony is one of many individuals who have been “overprosecuted” and given “crazy sentences.”
 
“I don’t think that there’s a lot of humanity in many of the courtrooms, but definitely in the criminal justice and carceral system,” she said. The carceral system refers to the policies and institutions used to define criminal activity in the United States. 

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The Collin County Young Democrats joined Anthony supporters in criticizing the verdict, writing in a Facebook post that “Justice must be more than punishment.”

“As our community processes this painful case, we cannot ignore the deeper questions it raises about fairness, race, sentencing, and who receives compassion in our legal system,” the group wrote. “Collin County deserves a justice system our whole community can trust.”

The Collin County NAACP is “enraged” by the verdict, writing in a Facebook post that the verdict raises questions regarding “fairness, representation, and confidence in our justice system.” The group pointed to the absence of Black jurors on the case as a concern. Prosecutors previously said they struck three Black jurors from the pool because all three were educators.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, Collin County was estimated to have a population size of about 1.2 million in July 2025. Of this total, 12.1% were recorded as Black and 62.6% reported to be white.

Some organizations, such as the Collin-Denton Chapter of the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats, addressed the fact that there is pain felt by both the Anthony and Metcalf families.

“Regardless of where people stand on the outcome of this case, there is no denying that pain exists on all sides,” the group wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. “Tonight, our hearts are with our Collin County community and with the families whose lives have been forever impacted by this tragedy.”

Local elected officials have taken to social media to offer consolation to the Metcalf family and praise the ruling as fair.

Texas state Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, said he considers the verdict justice served, calling Metcalf’s death “a senseless and heartbreaking tragedy” that forever changed his community.

“While no outcome can erase this pain, it is our hope that this moment allows the Metcalf family and our community to begin the difficult process of healing and moving forward together,” Patterson wrote Tuesday in a statement to The Dallas Morning News.

Burt Thakur, a Frisco City Council member representing Place 2, and state representative Matt Shaheen mirrored Patterson’s message of justice in Facebook posts Tuesday.

Related: Jury hands down 35-year sentence

“While no action can possibly mitigate the pain the Metcalf family is going through and has gone through, hopefully the process of healing for them can begin,” Thakur wrote.

“Today justice was served in the tragic murder of Austin Metcalf,” Shaheen, whose district covers parts of Frisco, wrote. “We pray for Austin’s family and all who have been impacted by this senseless tragedy.”

Thakur also said he hopes healing for the Frisco community will begin now.

Staff writer Angela Mathew contributed to this report.