The Texas teen accused of fatally stabbing a fellow 17-year-old student athlete, Karmelo Anthony, has received approval from the courts to move to an undisclosed location from his home to “ensure his immediate safety,” representatives for his family announced on Monday. 

Mr. Anthony, who was arrested on April 2 after he fatally stabbed Austin Metcalf during a track meet, was released on bail last week and required to stay at home and wear an ankle monitor. The 17-year-old accused killer claims that he acted in self-defense and has pleaded not guilty. The racially charged case — Mr. Anthony is Black and Metcalf was white — has made national headlines and pitted the accused’s and victim’s families against each other.

Next Generation Action Network, which is assisting the Anthony family, says that the accused killer sought to be transferred in light of an “alarming increase in death threats, continued harassment, and physical intimidation targeted at the family’s home.”  

The civil rights organization shared that the Anthony family has been victim of false food deliveries, intimidation, and disturbing mailings, including Austin Metcalf’s obituary. They included “images and documentation of the threats” that were directed at the family over the weekend “to make the public aware of the dangerous atmosphere that has been created — an atmosphere fueled by organized hate, systemic racism, and intentional misinformation,” Next Generation Action Network wrote. 

Mr. Anthony’s release on bail — which was lowered to $250,000 from $1 million — was met with fierce criticism by victims’ rights advocates, as well as by some conservative commentators who claim the case would be handled very differently by law enforcement and the media if the races of the two teens were reversed.

The latest development comes just a few days after members of a group called Protect White Americans gathered in the parking lot of the David Kuykendall Stadium at Frisco, Texas, to condemn Mr. Anthony’s homecoming and call out local officials for what they described as  anti-white hate. The event was organized by the group’s founder, Jake Lang, who was pardoned by President Trump for his participation in the January 6 riots and is now running for Senate. 

However, the group failed to win over the support of the victim’s father, Jeff Metcalf, who branded the demonstrators “race baiters” and accused them of seeking to “spew their narrative for their own agenda” without actually giving “a shit about my family” or “Karmelo Anthony’s family,” he told the New York Post.  

The grieving father said that Mr. Lang invited him to speak at Saturday’s rally, citing statistics about Black violence and “white lives matter” rhetoric. He responded, however, by ordering Mr. Lang to remove all images of his son from the Protect White Americans movement. 

“I said, ‘You, sir, are part of the f—ing problem. You are not a part of the solution. I don’t want anything to do with you,’” Mr. Metcalf told the Post.

The Metcalf family has also been subject to harassment, being targeted last week by a false gunfire report that was later identified by Frisco, Texas police as a “swatting” attack. “Swatting” — a reference to the Special Weapons and Tactics team that the police will often assemble in response to serious crimes — is when a false report is made with malicious intent to draw significant police presence to the home of an unsuspecting individual or family.

The fatal stabbing occurred on April 2 at Frisco Memorial High School during a track meet. The altercation reportedly began when Metcalf, a student at Frisco Memorial High School, asked Mr. Anthony, a student of Centennial High School, to move from his seat under the Memorial High School tent. 

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, witnesses testified that Mr. Anthony then reached into his backpack and warned, “touch me and see what happens.” As Metcalf went to grab Mr. Anthony to move him, Mr. Anthony allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Metcalf in the chest. Metcalf’s twin, Hunter, said he tried to save his bleeding brother before he succumbed to his injuries in his arms.

Two fundraiser campaigns — one for the Anthony family and another for the Metcalf family — emerged after the fatal event and have stirred further controversy. Both fundraisers have recently surpassed $500,000 in donations.