Conservative activists have joined forces to take down a $318,000 fundraiser for a teenager suspected of killing a high school football star in Frisco, Texas.
Karmelo Anthony, 17, has officially raised more money than his victim’s family to pay for his legal expenses.
Anthony is charged with fatally stabbing Austin Metcalf, also 17, at a high school track meet held in Kuykendall Stadium around 10 a.m. on April 2.
Anthony, a straight-A student at Centennial High School, fatally stabbed Metcalf, a Memorial High School star football player, during a dispute in a Memorial team tent.
A witness who was sitting with Metcalf in the team tent said a boy they didn’t recognize approached them to take shelter from the rain.
Metcalf asked Anthony to leave the tent, but he refused. The witness said Anthony reached into a black gym bag and told Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens.”
One witness said Metcalf grabbed Anthony, but another witness said Metcalf shoved Anthony out of the tent.
Seconds later, Anthony plunged a knife into Metcalf’s chest and ran away. The knife pierced Metcalf’s heart. He took his final breath in his twin brother’s arms.
Police recovered the murder weapon — described as a butcher’s knife with a black handle — discarded in the bleachers.
Anthony is being held in the Collin County Jail on $1 million bail. His attorneys plan to ask a judge to lower the bail amount and release him on house arrest.
The lawyers called the bond “excessive” in court documents.
“Karmelo, like all citizens of the United States, is entitled to a fair and impartial legal process,'” the attorneys said. “We are committed to ensuring that Karmelo’s rights are indeed protected throughout each phase of the criminal justice system.”
Anthony’s spokesperson admitted the 6′ 1″ football player was not bullied by Austin Metcalf before the fatal stabbing.
A GoFundMe page launched by Metcalf’s father, Jeff, raised $318,443 by Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, a GiveSendGo account created by Anthony’s parents has raised $318,852 for his legal expenses.
A GoFundMe account that had raised $60,000 for Anthony was deleted and the money refunded to donors by GoFundMe, which has a strict policy against fundraisers for those charged with crimes.
Austin Metcalf’s supporters are working to get Anthony’s GiveSendGo fundraiser taken down as well.
A conservative attorney, known as Ladylawyer on X (Twitter), is pushing to have Anthony’s fundraiser removed.
“As promised, I have contacted GiveSendGo and filed a claim for fraud committed by the family of Karmelo Anthony,” she wrote. “Being limited to 1000 characters is limiting enough, without being able to provide evidence. However, I did include 2 links confirming the purpose of the Fund, as well as a link to the now-defunct GoFundMe account with the exact same photo.”
Hold up, they're trying to stop people from donating to Karmelo Anthony's legal fund?
Sounds very Marxist to me… https://t.co/HnAKIvNcWv
— Jeff Charles, The Nullifier? (@jeffcharlesjr) April 7, 2025
