The teenager suspected of killing high school track star Austin Metcalf will be allowed to graduate from his Frisco, Texas, high school despite being charged with first-degree murder, according to a report.
Karmelo Anthony will graduate from Centennial High School, part of the Frisco Independent School District, according to WFAA. Students from that high school are set to graduate on May 22.
Anthony will not be part of the graduation ceremony, according to the report.
“We are proud to share that Karmelo Anthony will graduate and receive his high school diploma, and that his academic achievements will not be disrupted,” Next Generation Action Network (NGAN) President Dominique Alexander, a spokesman for Anthony’s family, reportedly said.
“NGAN has worked diligently alongside the Anthony family’s legal team to bring about this fair and student-focused resolution,” he said. “This is a moment of dignity for Karmelo and a reminder of the power of advocacy done right.”
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Frisco ISD Superintendent Mike Waldrip addressed what he said were false rumors that Anthony would be able to attend the graduation ceremony.
“Frisco ISD has learned that misinformation is being shared regarding Centennial High School’s graduation via several media outlets and perpetuated through social media,” he told WFAA. “It is disheartening that the incredible accomplishments and achievements of our Centennial seniors may be dampened by needless fearmongering, attention-seeking and media vitriol. Our students, staff and community deserve better.
“I want to be clear. No student who commits a serious criminal offense (Title V felony) is permitted to participate in the graduation ceremony. Additionally, anyone who trespasses on Frisco ISD property or at a District event will be subject to immediate removal and possible arrest by law enforcement,” he said, adding that the school district does not condone violence.
“We work to ensure every student is safe to learn and feels part of our culture of respect, honor and integrity,” he said.
“Let’s come together as a community to honor and support our students and staff. This moment is about their success, and they deserve our full attention and encouragement. Congratulations to the Centennial Class of 2025!”
Anthony, now 18, is accused of stabbing and killing Metcalf over a dispute regarding Anthony’s presence in the Memorial High School tent at the April 2 track meet.
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He and his supporters claim that he acted in self-defense, and that Metcalf pushed him out of the tent.
That claim is tenuous, according to Julie Rendelman, a former homicide prosecutor from New York who now runs a private criminal defense firm.
“If the evidence is what it is right now, I think he’s going to have an uphill battle claiming self-defense,” she previously told Fox News Digital. “If the scenario is… that the victim told [Anthony] to leave, and then in some way physically touched him without more, then I’m not comfortable – I don’t believe that a self-defense claim will work.”
Meanwhile, Alexander has compared Anthony to figures like Kyle Rittenhouse and Daniel Penny, who have won self-defense cases in criminal court.
“Nobody in the public media has one video, but we got the video of Kyle Rittenhouse with an AK-47 shooting three people in the back,” he said in a chaotic April 17 news conference before which Jeff Metcalf, Austin’s father, was escorted off the property. “We got that, and he raised more than $2 million publicly, and nobody said anything about that.”
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He also called Anthony’s detractors bigots, in what has become a racially charged public discussion.
“Because these racist bigots try to prevent us from standing up for our baby, our boy, he should be afforded the same rights that Kyle Rittenhouse had, Daniel Penny and all the people who have claimed whatever their defense was. He should be afforded the same right,” Alexander said.
“What [Jeff Metcalf] has felled [sic] into is the political operatives that want to make this thing a political thing of hate and yet bigotry and yet racism,” he said of Austin’s father. “We have conservative operatives that have been posting nonstop about this case.”
NGAN and Frisco ISD declined to comment.
Anthony’s attorney, Mike Howard, did not return a comment request.
Jeff Metcalf did not return a comment request.
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