Posted on 04/07/2025 4:33:03 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf by Karmelo Anthony during a Texas track meet has ignited controversy. Anthony’s self-defense claim has drawn comparisons to Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted in 2021 for a deadly protest shooting under a similar defense, fueling heated and polarized reactions online.
The Karmelo Anthony-Austin Metcalf case has sparked intense reactions on social media. Anthony fatally stabbed Metcalf after an altercation during an athletics meet in Frisco, Texas, on April 2 and has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. The case has led many on social media to compare Anthony to Kyle Rittenhouse, who famously claimed self-defense after fatally shooting two people during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020, and was found not guilty by a jury.
What Is The Karmelo Anthony-Austin Metcalf Case?
On April 2, 2025, Seventeen-year-old Austin Metcalf, a junior at Memorial High School and a standout football player, was fatally stabbed following a brief altercation with fellow student Karmelo Anthony, 17, from Centennial High School at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas, during a high school track meet. The confrontation began when Metcalf and his twin brother, Hunter, noticed Anthony seated near their team's designated area. Hunter said that they politely asked Anthony to move to his own team's section. However, Anthony's response was reportedly aggressive, leading to a heated exchange. Witnesses stated that when Metcalf attempted to move Anthony, he was stabbed in the chest. Despite immediate attempts to administer CPR, Metcalf was pronounced dead at the scene, cradled in his twin brother's arms. recommended by
Anthony was arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree murder. He remains in custody at Frisco Jail with a bail set at $1 million. Anthony claimed he acted in self-defense and told one officer, "I was protecting myself." "He put his hands on me, I told him not to," he continued.
Austin Metcalf's father, Jeff, described the scene when he first saw his son, telling the New York Post, “I could see all the blood, and I saw where the wound was, and I was very concerned, so I had to find his brother, and we rushed to the hospital. And we prayed, and it’s God’s plan, I don’t understand it, but they weren’t able to save him. This is murder."
Who Is Kyle Rittenhouse And Why Is He Being Compared To Karmelo Anthony?
While the case is still ongoing, many on social media have rallied behind Karmelo Anthony's self-defense argument and drawn attention to past cases in which perpetrators of violent crimes have been let off on self-defense claims. Many pointed to the 2020 case of Kyle Rittenhouse.
Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Antioch, Illinois, traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin, with an AR-15-style rifle during protests sparked by the police shooting of Jacob Blake, claiming he was there to protect businesses and provide medical aid. On August 25, 2020, he shot and killed two men and wounded a third following confrontations with protesters.
Also read: Austin Metcalf: 'Justice For Karmelo' Facebook Group, Multiple GoFundMe Launched For Suspect?
Rittenhouse was charged with multiple felonies, including first-degree intentional homicide, but his defense argued he acted in self-defense, fearing for his life when attacked, while the prosecution claimed he provoked the violence. In November 2021, he was found not guilty of all charges.
With Anthony claiming self-defense as well for his crime, social media users have begun arguing for his innocence since Rittenhoiuse was found not guilty on the same principle. Others asserted that those slamming Anthony for carrying a knife to a school event are the same who defended Rittenhouse's right to carry a firearm into a protest.
You can't say #KarmeloAnthony shouldn't have had a knife because Kyle Rittenhouse should've never had a gun, he broke gun laws to gain access to an AR, committed a mass shooting killing 2 ppl, then the courts let him go free. The white supremacists made him a hero. pic.twitter.com/1xxKbXERjr
— Ether (@wsrt14) April 5, 2025 ]]>
Utter BS.
I’m pretty sure Anthony has an online funding account, while Rittenhouse’s campaign was canceled.
Good point. Someone should as GoFundMe on this.
Talk about two entirely different events. It’s lame.
anyone can claim self-defense but it comes down to the actual facts of each case.
Anthony’s case does not stand up to a self-defense standard.
Rittenhouse’s case does.
Knife Control!!!!
The dude looked at him funny so in self defense he stabbed him in the heart??!!
This is beyond the pale, much worse than wrong.
Huge differences:
Karmelo went there ready to stab someone who got in his way, dissed him, or dare I say it, was a different skin color.
Kyle went there to help defend people and property from an insane mob of anarchists. Whether he should have been more prudent in bringing a rifle there is another issue, but he didn’t really want to use it.
Not remotely similar.
>> “Anthony claimed he acted in self-defense and told one officer, “I was protecting myself.” “He put his hands on me, I told him not to,” he continued.”
Well that settles that. He sounds innocent to me. /s
He put his hands on me, so I stabbed him to death vs. He shot at me, he chased me down and slammed his skateboard on my head, he was pointing a handgun at me. Yep, identical situations.
What a crap article - lots of loaded phrasing, as well as factual errors, on top of a totally ridiculous premise (the comparison of Rittenhouse protecting himself while being chased in a riot by a mob, including at least one armed participant taking aim at him) to a knife-wielding thug who stabbed another kid who had the temerity to touch him.
Among the factual errors - Rittenhouse did NOT “travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin, with an AR-15-style rifle” from his home in Illinois - he went to Kenosha unarmed and was given a rifle there, by folks who were defending their property from rioters.
Did the police abandon the track meet to allow a “mostly peaceful” riot take over?
lotta bad rittenhouse facts...
“Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Antioch, Illinois, traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin, with an AR-15-style rifle “
utter nonsense...
plus a spit load of more quoted false equivalencies in the article...
He didn’t bring the gun, he was provided one when he arrived.
Agreed,there is all the difference in the world between someone being armed to protect people and property from a violent, rioting mob that was burning and looting businesses and someone bringing a weapon to a high school track meet!
Not even close to the same thing.
Among the factual errors - Rittenhouse did NOT “travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin, with an AR-15-style rifle” from his home in Illinois - he went to Kenosha unarmed and was given a rifle there, by folks who were defending their property from rioters.
Apples to oranges. There is SO much wrong in that article…
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