Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico is facing scrutiny after appearing to endorse a town hall attendees claim that the murder conviction of a Black defendant in the killing of a White teenager was a f*cking tragedy.
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The exchange occurred at a Black voter outreach event in DeSoto, Texas, where Talarico listened as a woman denounced the conviction of Karmelo Anthony, who was found guilty of murdering 16-year-old student-athlete Austin Metcalf. As reported by The Gateway Pundit, Anthony received a 35-year prison sentence in June after a jury concluded he fatally stabbed Metcalf during a championship track meet at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco last April. Rather than lamenting the brutal loss of an innocent young life, the woman and Talarico appeared to frame the conviction of his killer as the true injustice.
Our people have getting killed left and right. Karmelo Anthonys case is just a fucking tragedy. Excuse my language, but it is, the woman declared, gesturing wildly as Talarico nodded in visible agreement. She went on to deliver a nearly two-minute tirade about overpolicing in Black communities, alleging that Juneteenth events draw heavier police presence than Fourth of July celebrations, which she insisted have a lot more violence going on.
During her remarks, she attacked President Donald Trump for supposedly shutting down civil rights and police investigations and claimed the craziness in this, in this country has gotten worse. Our people have getting killed left and right. She then escalated her rhetoric, shouting, I have more trauma from living here coming back here than I did when I was in Bahrain, Kuwait, Afghanistan, before branding local law enforcement the biggest gangs that I know of in this freaking country.
This is unacceptable, Talarico replied, using her comments as a springboard to condemn police rather than defend the rule of law or the slain teenager. Im so sorry that law enforcement felt the need to shut down a joyous festival for you in this community. It is unacceptable. Law enforcement is here to serve us. It is here to protect us. And too often, we see law enforcement weaponized against Black and Brown communities in this state.
We need to make sure that we build a system where everybody has true public safety, he continued, arguing that if you cant celebrate Juneteenth with your community, that is not public safety. Talarico added, if were spending precious law enforcement resources on a Juneteenth festival instead of going after people who actually mean to do us harm, then that endangers all of us, before broadening his criticism to federal immigration enforcement and accusing ICE agents of murder, a stance likely to alarm voters who still believe violent crime should be punished and police supported rather than vilified.
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