James Talarico has waded into the racially charged case of the murder of teenage football standout Austin Metcalf, with the Texas Democratic Senate nominee throwing his support behind Metcalf's convicted killer, Karmelo Anthony, now 19.
Anthony's attorneys are back in a Texas courtroom on Thursday, seeking a new trial, and on Wednesday succeeded—in a significant win—in having the judge from the original trial removed.
Talarico, in an interview on a black radio show earlier this month, said the conviction of Anthony, a black teenager who fatally stabbed Metcalf, who was white, at a high school track meet in Frisco, is proof that the criminal justice system "is not working for black Texans."
"Right now we've got a system that doesn't serve all Americans equally, and, and we know that black Texans have been, um, have not gotten the justice they deserve," said Talarico, a member of the Texas House of Representatives.
Talarico offered that controversial take during an August 5 interview on The Breakfast Club, a popular New York City talk radio show that has been a proving ground of sorts for white Democrats who seek to woo black voters. In 2016, Hillary Clinton proclaimed on the show that she carries around hot sauce in her purse, a claim that host Charlamagne tha God said sounded like she was "pandering to black voters." In 2020, Joe Biden said on the show that "if you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black."
In his interview, Talarico was asked to respond to a viral clip from last month that showed him emphatically nodding along as a woman at a town hall called the Anthony conviction a "tragedy." A Texas jury sentenced Anthony to 35 years in prison on June 9, 2026, for stabbing Metcalf, 17, at a track meet outside Dallas on April 2, 2025. Metcalf, a star linebacker on his high school football team, died in the arms of his twin brother Hunter. Witnesses testified that Anthony, who was 17 at the time, threatened Austin Metcalf and other students before brandishing a large knife and stabbing Metcalf in the heart.
Anthony raised more than $630,000 via GiveSendGo following the stabbing, and how his family spent the money has been the subject of controversy. In a case of dueling crowdfunding campaigns, Metcalf's supporters also raised more than $630,000 for his family via GoFundMe.
Anthony's legal team are challenging his conviction, arguing that their client was convicted by a jury with no black jurors, after the judge allowed the prosecution to strike all three black jurors in the jury pool.
Talarico reiterated in the radio interview that the case was a "tragedy" and suggested that Anthony was either wrongfully convicted or over-sentenced because he is black.
"I'm not an expert on this particular case, but I know that there were no black members of the jury, and to me, that's, that's the only evidence you need to, to really prove this system is not working for black Texans," who said that if elected to the U.S. Senate, he will continue his work in the Texas State House to "reform this system."
Those views could reinforce concerns that Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian who has declared that "God is non-binary," is too far-left to win a general election in Texas, a conservative stronghold.
The defense succeeded in having the judge, who is white, removed in part because he said the jury "got it right" in handing down a conviction.
Talarico's campaign did not respond to questions about whether he supports a new trial for Anthony and whether he believes Anthony is innocent of the murder charges.
Talarico appeared on The Breakfast Club as he struggles to woo black voters following a bitter primary fight against Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a black Democrat from Dallas (and a regular on The Breakfast Club). Crockett, who has likewise defended Anthony, accused Talarico of running "a racist race" in the primary. Talarico came under fire for allegedly referring to former Senate candidate Colin Allred as a "mediocre black man."
Talarico has embraced other hot-button policies in an appeal to black voters. He denounced the SAVE Act, which would strengthen ID requirements to vote, as an attempt to "rob" black voters. He recently endorsed the idea of reparations for slavery, stating that "repairing past harms is part of my faith tradition."
