The president of the Next Generation Action Network — a group advocating for 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, who’s charged with murdering high school star athlete Austin Metcalf — called Metcalf’s father “disrespectful” for showing up at a Thursday news conference for the Anthony family.
NGAN’s Dominique Alexander added that Jeff Metcalf’s presence at the event was “a disrespect to the dignity of his son,” according to a WFAA-TV live video feed of the news conference.
Alexander told those gathered that Metcalf ‘was not invited,’ that ‘he knows that it’s inappropriate to be near [the Anthony] family,’ and that his presence at the news conference ‘shows you all’ his ‘character.’
Metcalf’s 17-year-old son Austin was fatally stabbed at an April 2 track meet at Kuykendall Stadium. Police arrested Anthony and charged him with first-degree murder.
Jeff Metcalf said the suspect got angry after being told he was in the wrong place and being asked to move: “I’m not trying to judge, but what kind of parents did this child have? What was he taught? He brought a knife to a track meet, and he murdered my son by stabbing him in the heart. The guy was in the wrong place, and they asked him to move, and he bowed up. This is murder.”
Anthony’s father said his son “was not the aggressor,” and Anthony walked free from from jail Monday after his $1 million bond was reduced to $250,000.
News conference delayed; Jeff Metcalf blamed
The start of Thursday’s news conference was delayed after Jeff Metcalf — seen on the station’s live feed holding a smartphone and wearing dark sunglasses — showed up and wouldn’t leave when requested to do so, WFAA reported. NGAN said the news conference wouldn’t happen with Metcalf in the room, the station added.
Dallas police were called, WFAA said, and there was speculation that Metcalf’s presence at the news conference violated a court order stating that Karmelo Anthony isn’t allowed to have contact with the Metcalf family. However, WFAA said Karmelo Anthony wasn’t at the news conference.
After about an hour delay, the station said Metcalf had departed the building, and he was seen speaking outside to a group of at least five uniformed police officers and shaking the hands of some of them as he left.
– YouTube youtu.be
Soon after the news conference began, Alexander told those gathered that Metcalf “was not invited,” that “he knows that it’s inappropriate to be near [the Anthony] family,” and that his presence at the news conference “shows you all” his “character.”
Frisco ISD accused of intention to expel Anthony
Alexander also ripped the Frisco Independent School District, claiming that district officials intend to expel Anthony — who’s a senior at Centennial High School — prior to his graduation. Alexander added that “we will do direct action” outside the Frisco ISD offices in the coming days, and it “seems like they have made their mind up.”
The Frisco ISD provided Blaze News with the following statement Thursday when asked to comment on Alexander’s claim that the district intends to expel Anthony:
While Frisco ISD cannot comment on an individual student’s disciplinary record due to student privacy law, we can provide general information about District protocol and relevant law.
If a student in Frisco ISD is charged with a serious crime, called a Title V felony, the District looks at the case and decides if the student should be disciplined. The student and their parents will get a letter explaining what the school recommends.
If the school recommends expulsion, which means the student is removed from school, the student is not allowed to go on any Frisco ISD property while the decision is being made. A meeting will be held where the student can share their side of the story and show any evidence. After the meeting, the District will decide whether to go through with the expulsion and will let the student and parents know.
If the student is expelled, they might still get schoolwork and education through a special program called JJAEP. If the student has already finished everything needed to graduate, the district may let them graduate early instead of going to JJAEP. Whether the student is expelled or chooses to graduate early, they still can’t go on any Frisco ISD property.
Anthony’s mother speaks out
Anthony’s mother, Kala Hayes, was at times tearful and angry as she also spoke at the news conference.
Hayes said she’s a “stay-at-home mom” and that her “two-parent” family puts “God first in everything that we do.” She added that her family has been “under attack” and “threatened, harassed, and lied about” since the “tragic incident.”
“My 13-year-old daughter is afraid to sleep in her own bedroom!” a tearful Hayes hollered, noting that her husband’s “metal health” has “deteriorated day by day” in the face of having to take a leave of absence from work “because he’s afraid of what might happen to our family.” She also said claims about the family’s financial situation are “completely false” and that they “haven’t received a single dime” from the GiveSendGo fund for her son, which was nearing the $460,000 mark Thursday afternoon.
– YouTube youtu.be
The Anthony family moved into a $900,000 home in a gated community in recent days, according to the Daily Mail, which added it its report that “the lavish lifestyle is in stark contract to the cash struggles Anthony’s father, Andrew Anthony, claimed to have in court Monday, where the parent claimed he was the sole breadwinner.”
At the news conference, Alexander also tore into “conservative operatives” who “have been posting nonstop about this case,” noting “misinformation about the [GiveSendGo] fund” and saying that claims about the family’s new house are false. Alexander also decried “bigotry” and “racism” against the Anthony family. On the other side of things, Karmelo Anthony’s defenders have been going viral on social media, with one of them actually declaring that Metcalf “got exactly what he deserved — point blank, period.”
You can view the full press conference below:
– YouTube www.youtube.com
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