Chaos unfolded during a press conference in Dallas Thursday afternoon as the spokesman for Karmelo Anthony’s family took jabs at Austin Metcalf’s father, who was escorted from the site of the event before it began.

Anthony is accused of fatally stabbing fellow 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at an April 2 high school track meet in Frisco, Texas. 

Jeff Metcalf, Austin’s father, attempted to attend the news conference Thursday led by Dominique Alexander, the head of the Next Generation Action Network, an activist group speaking on Anthony’s behalf. 

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Metcalf confirmed to Fox News Digital he was escorted from the event under the threat of criminal trespass charges. 

“The preliminary investigation determined that one person was asked to leave the location and did so without incident,” the Dallas Police Department told Fox News Digital. “No offense was reported.”

Anthony is facing first-degree murder charges for allegedly stabbing Metcalf to death during a dispute under a tent at a track meet.

He was released from the Collin County Jail after his bond was reduced from $1 million to $250,000. 

The news conference addressed more than $450,000 in GiveSendGo funds that have been donated to the Anthony family after his arrest and rumors the money was being spent improperly. The second focus was supposed to be Anthony’s mother, Kayla Hayes, who read a statement on behalf of the family that was prepared by attorneys. 

Dominique Alexander of the Next Generation Action Network hosted a news conference on behalf of Karmelo Anthony’s family Thursday, April 17.  (Next Generation Action Network via Facebook)

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But the event devolved into accusations of racism and bigotry, along with Alexander’s admonishment of Jeff Metcalf before either topic was even discussed. 

“What we’ve seen at the beginning of this press conference, of the father being at this press conference, these are my words — don’t quote anybody — is a disrespect to the dignity of his son,” Alexander said. 

“Next Generation Action Network from the beginning has respected the loss of life, no matter our opinion of it. We have kept our opinion close,” he said. “We have not attacked. We have not shared the information that was shared with us about Austin Metcalf because we respect the dignity of life and loss.

Austin Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, previously told Fox News his “life was destroyed” by his son’s killing. (Jeff Metcalf)

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“That was disrespectful and just shows you all the character,” Alexander said. “He was not invited. He knows that it’s inappropriate to be near this family, but he did it. So, I say to people, actions speak louder than words.”

Alexander said Jeff Metcalf wanted to focus on politics and bigotry. 

“What he 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. “We have conservative operatives that have been posting nonstop about this case.” 

Accused killer Karmelo Anthony, center, walks out of jail after posting bond. (KDFW)

He then moved onto the issue of the online fundraiser. 

Alexander said none of the money from the GiveSendGo has been spent, and any suggestion otherwise is “intentional disinformation.”

“Let’s be clear,” he said. “The family has not received one dime.”

Alexander then ranted about the Frisco Independent School District’s plans to expel Anthony a month before graduation. He noted that Anthony has a 3.7 GPA, and that even if he didn’t go to class for the rest of the year, he would still be able to graduate. 

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He also appeared to subtly shift blame for Metcalf’s death from Anthony to the school district, intimating that the school should have canceled the April 2 track meet in the first place because of inclement weather. 

“Because as a person who is the administrator of yet children, you are responsible for the safety of the children,” he said. “And so it seems as if Frisco ISD is trying to push this off by making [the decision to expel Anthony] that they do not have to make.” 

Mugshot of Karmelo Anthony, left, and Austin Metcalf in football pads, right. (Fox DFW/Jeff Metcalf)

“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,” a spokesperson for the district told Fox News Digital. 

“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,” the spokesperson said. “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.”

Before finally turning the conference over to Hayes, Alexander commented on Judge Angela Tucker, a Black Republican presiding over the case. 

“But the ugly attacks on her just shows Black America that no matter what you pick in the ballot box — and that is your constitutional right — it’s people out here reminding us of the Black struggle in America.”

Austin Metcalf, 17, was stabbed to death at a Texas track meet. (Jeff Metcalf)

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An emotional Hayes spoke only briefly. 

“Our family has been under attack,” she said. “Whatever you think, what happened between Karmelo and the Metcalf boy, my three younger children, my husband and I didn’t do anything to deserve to be threatened, harassed and lied about.”

She said such lies have put her family in danger, along with the community and those involved in the investigation. 

“Our address and my husband’s previous employer’s address has been put on all social media platforms,” she said. “My husband had to take a leave of absence because he’s afraid of what may happen to our family.”

She said her husband’s mental health is deteriorating, and her daughter is afraid to sleep in her own bed. 

Hayes echoed Alexander’s sentiment that the GiveSendGo funds have not been used by the family at all. 

Karmelo Anthony’s mother, Kayla Hayes, speaks at a press conference Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Next Generation Action Network via Facebook)

After Hayes spoke, Alexander returned to the issue of race.

“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. 

“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. “We got that, and he raised more than $2 million publicly, and nobody said anything about that.”

Jeff Metcalf previously told Fox News, “I want to clarify something right off to start because I’ve already heard some rumors and gossip. This was not a race thing. This is not a political thing.

“Do not politicize this. It’s not … this is a human being thing. This person made a bad choice and affected both his family and my family forever.”

Metcalf added that “Austin was the light of my life.”

He said on “America Reports” that Austin died in the arms of his twin brother, Hunter, who desperately tried to stop the bleeding.

“They were so tight. They had the best bond. They were best friends,” Metcalf said of the pair. “And now I have to focus on taking care of Hunter.”

Metcalf also mentioned forgiveness.

“People ask me, how can you forgive this other person? I said I forgive the other person because the forgiveness is not for him. The forgiveness is for me so I can have peace,” he said. “His life is destroyed. My life is destroyed.”

Austin Metcalf, 16, died at a track meet after getting stabbed. (FOX DFW Chopper)

Metcalf was killed after an altercation under a Memorial High School tent at the track meet. The arrest report from the incident said Anthony “grabbed his bag, opened it and reached inside it” and told Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens.”

In the next moment, a witness told police, Anthony “reached into his bag and the male took a knife out of the bag and stabbed Austin.”

The witness told the officer Anthony fled after the stabbing. Metcalf died in his twin brother’s arms.

Anthony told the responding school resource officer, who cuffed him upon arrival, he was protecting himself. The officer also noted blood on Anthony’s left middle finger. 

One responding officer referred to Anthony as the alleged suspect. Anthony made a “spontaneous statement,” according to the report, saying, “I’m not alleged, I did it.”

Anthony also asked the officers if Metcalf was “going to be OK” and asked if what happened could be considered “self-defense,” the report said.

Fox News Digital’s Madison Colombo contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A spokesperson for the family of the 17-year-old boy accused of stabbing Frisco, Texas, track star Austin Metcalf to death has a long history of supporting defunding the police as well as close ties to former Squad Rep. Cori Bush. 

Minister Dominique Alexander, a Dallas-based defund the police activist and social justice leader, has been in the headlines in recent days as he and his organization, Next Generation Action Network (NGAN), have been rallying in defense of the family of 17-year-old Karmelo Anthony, the teenager who is accused of fatally stabbing Metcalf, and Anthony himself.

“The Next Generation Action Network is currently working with the Anthony family to get the bond processed and will keep the community updated regarding his release,” NGAN posted on X earlier this week after the bond was reduced from $1 million to $250,000. “We want to sincerely thank everyone for the overwhelming support you have shown. This is just the beginning of a long legal journey, and we will continue to stand strong in defense of Karmelo’s rights.”

Alexander hosted a press conference on Thursday and slammed the father of the victim for being a “disrespect to the dignity of his son” after he showed up to the press conference that he was “not invited” to, according to Alexander. 

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“That was disrespectful and just shows you all the character,” he continued. “He was not invited. He knows that it’s inappropriate to be near this family, but he did it. So, I say to people, actions speak louder than words.”

Alexander’s comments immediately went viral Thursday across social media, which led to online sleuths resurfacing his long criminal record, which has been documented in multiple local reports dating back over a decade. A Fox News Digital review also exposes his longtime support for defunding the police and his ties to the former “Squad” House Democrat and defund-the-police activist Cori Bush, who was defeated last year during her Democratic primary.

Alexander’s X and Facebook accounts reveal that he and NGAN played a pivotal role in helping mobilize on behalf of Bush’s winning campaigns in 2020 and 2022. In 2020, Bush praised Alexander and his group for their “perseverance & dedication” and said their “[commitment] to the work” is “unmatched.”

“Thanks to Minister [Dominique Alexander] & @NextGenAction for your tireless work & bravery,” Bush said in 2019.

In a 2021 post, Alexander said it was “truly an honor” to join Bush as she was sworn into Congress. The post included a photo of Alexander accompanied by Bush, who was holding NGAN’s Shirley Chisholm Award that she received from the organization in 2020.

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In another 2021 post, Alexander posted a photo of him and Bush from 2020 while they were campaigning together, saying, “Last year, I had the honor of seeing history in the making by seeing this beautiful black queen [Cori Bush] elected to Congress.”

“I am so proud of her as an actual frontline protester. We saw her yesterday sacrifice for millions facing eviction in America, our Movement Congresswoman,” he continued. “Happy Election Anniversary, Congresswoman Cori Bush.”

Alexander and his organization would go on to post dozens of pro-Bush posts during her tenure in Congress, including saying that the group was “excited to stand with [Rep. Cori Bush] and over 300 organizations nationwide to demand reparations in America” in a 2023 post.

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., has been a longtime supporter of defunding the police despite spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on private security. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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“Thank you for your service to our community and our country. The attacks that you are currently experiencing is baseless. In the people support, making sure you are okay and safe to serve,” NGAN said in a 2024 post. “We live in a country that does not want to address white supremacy.”

When Bush lost her Democratic primary last year, NGAN railed against AIPAC and called for the Supreme Court case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, to be “overturned” after the group’s super PAC spent millions to defeat Bush.

While Alexander’s ties to Bush have not been widely reported, his criminal history went viral on social media as conservatives ripped him as a “career criminal” and resurfaced local reports about his criminal past, including being indicted on a felony family violence charge in Dallas, according to NBC 5 DFW. 

The outlet reported in 2019 that an arrest warrant affidavit stated that Alexander’s longtime partner, Keyaira Saunders, had reported to police that Alexander had shoved her and tried to strangle her.

Saunders later declined to pursue charges and slammed the Dallas police for their handling of the case, according to the outlet.

Alexander also served two days in jail after pleading guilty to a felony theft case in 2021, Dallas Express reported.

“After four years of this hanging over my head, I decided to avoid a jury trial in a Trump County that wouldn’t have given me a fair shot at all,” Alexander posted on Facebook around the time of his guilty plea.

Dominique Alexander of the Next Generation Action Network hosted a press conference on behalf of Karmelo Anthony’s family on Thursday, April 17.  (Next Generation Action Network via Facebook)

In 2016, Alexander was sentenced to two years in prison for violating his probation, Fox 10 Phoenix reported.

Another local report from 2009 details how Alexander was arrested for allegedly causing serious head injuries to his then-girlfriend’s two-year-old son while he was babysitting him. Alexander initially told police and his then-girlfriend that the young boy had fallen off the couch while he was in the other room, but the doctor dismissed his claim amid an examination of the young boy in the intensive care unit, according to the Dallas Observer.

“The severity of his injuries is not consistent with rolling off the couch,” the investigating officer reported the doctor saying. “The injuries are acute and likely occurred around the time that [his girlfriend’s son] started to have symptoms (like being unresponsive.) Without more adequate history of trauma, complainant’s injuries are more consistent with abusive head trauma and child physical abuse.”

The Dallas Observer continued by reporting that Alexander had admitted shaking the child and that the judge had charged him with a first-degree felony.

“Not long after he was arrested for injury to a child causing severe bodily harm, he got into trouble for forging a check, leading police on a high-speed chase, stealing a car and falsely claiming that a car was stolen,” the Dallas Observer added. “Alexander brought a couple of character witnesses, but one had only recently met him and the other didn’t know Alexander was on probation.”

In addition to his criminal record, Alexander’s social media profiles are littered with pro-defunding the police and supportive posts of notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan.

“We can defund Education; We can defund social services; we can defund Recreation centers & libraries. ‘WE CAN DEFUND THE POLICE.’ End of story – Fund Our Communities,” Alexander posted on X in 2022.

In the summer of 2020, at the height of the George Floyd movement, Alexander specifically called for the Dallas Police Department to be defunded, via a post on X. 

Demonstrators hold a sign reading “Defund the Police” during a protest over the death of a Black man, Daniel Prude, after police put a spit hood over his head during an arrest on March 23, in Rochester, New York. September 6, 2020. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

“After 75 days of protest, the @DallasCityMgr is increasing the [Dallas Police Department] budget. We will Defund Dallas Police Department we want a 100,000,000 from Dallas Police,” Alexander’s NGAN organization posted in August 2020.

Alexander has publicly supported Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan despite dozens of antisemitic comments, including comparing Jews to “termites” and saying they are “wicked.”

“Please get it correct the Honorable Minister @LouisFarrakhan is the name please put some respect on his name,” Alexander said in a X post responding to CNN’S Jake Tapper, who is Jewish.

“Happy 83rd Birthday [Louis Farrakhan] may GOD continue to bless you,” he wrote in another X post.

Fox News Digital reached out to Alexander for comment.

An attempted burglary was thwarted at a Texas car dealership after a man called 911 to report he had been injured during the break-in, police said.

The Tyler Police Department arrested Jeremiah Megallon after receiving a call from him that he had injured himself while trying to break into the Patterson Dodge dealership.

Police say the call came in around 3:45 a.m. Thursday from Megallon, who claimed he had just broken into the dealership and needed help.

“He said he had broken into the Patterson Dodge dealership in an attempt to steal a car but was unable to get out of the building,” Public Information Officer Andy Erbaugh told Fox News Digital. “He had cuts from breaking a window at the dealership and crawling through it.”

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Erbaugh said Megallon said he was trying to steal a car by throwing a rock through a window to gain entry into the building and cut himself. 

“Unfortunately for him, there were several unlocked doors he could have used to get out,” Erbaugh added. “After 26 years here, truth is stranger than fiction.” 

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A man trying to break into a car dealership Wednesday night in Texas called police on himself when he was injured, police said. (KLTV)

An official from the dealership told KLTV the only damage to the business was a window Megallon shattered when he threw the rock through it to get inside. 

A member of the staff told the outlet the only thing he managed to steal was candy from the desk of a salesperson.

Megallon was taken to a hospital and later transported to the Smith County Jail, where he was arrested for burglary of a building, Erbaugh said. 

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An alleged burglar called 911 after injuring himself while allegedly attempting to steal a care from a dealership in Tyler, Texas.  (KLTV)

Erbaugh said this was not the first time in his career he had dealt with a suspect turning himself into the police.

“Several years ago, I was a crimes against persons detective, and one of the cases we took was a 75-year-old retired dentist who called to tell us he had shot and killed his wife,” Erbaugh recalled. 

Erbaugh was talking about Dr. Bobby Nichols, who admitted to shooting his wife, Rosalind Nichols, after an argument when he returned home from a night of drinking in 2012. 

“He said, ‘I’m a retired dentist, and she wouldn’t stop nagging [me],’” Erbaugh recalled. “He said, ‘I went out to get a beer at Willowbrook Country Club,’ which is one of our local country clubs, and she didn’t like that.”

Erbaugh recalled Nichols said, “‘I had another one when I got home, and she wouldn’t stop, so I got my pistol and I shot her.’”

Erbaugh said Nichols was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his wife’s murder. 

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com