BATON ROUGE -  A group of activists marched through Baton Rouge today calling for a new trial for Karmelo Anthony, a 19-year-old serving a 35-year sentence for the stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Texas high school track meet.

The march went from the State Capitol to Gus Young Park. Jedidiah Brown, founder of 4 the Culture, said the march was a deliberate choice.

"We're going to march because that is the language of the unheard. You have to put your feet to the pavement, not your fingers to social media," Brown said.

During a 2025 high school track meet in Frisco, Texas, Anthony, who was 17 at the time, sat under another school's tent while it was raining. Witnesses say Metcalf repeatedly asked Anthony to leave and Anthony responded by saying "Touch me and see what happens."

Witnesses claim Metcalf shoved or nudged Anthony before Anthony stabbed Metcalf, killing him. Metcalf's twin brother, Hunter, was at the track meet and saw his brother dying. He spoke about it in an April 2026 interview.

"He knew how much I loved him. I tried to whip around as fast as I could, but I didn't see the stab. But then I looked at my brother, and I'm not going to talk about the rest," said Hunter.

Metcalf's mother, Meghan, also spoke about the loss in April.

"Just because a kid was mad, my son is not here anymore, and I don't understand it," Meghan said.

Anthony's attorney claimed he used self-defense when stabbing Metcalf, but the jury rejected that argument.

Activists feel Anthony did not get a fair trial, in part because no Black jurors were selected. They want his conviction overturned.

"You can have an opinion about if it was right or wrong, but we all should have the same opinion that the court system in America should be fair and it should be transparent and that actually clearly wasn't done in this case," Brown said.

According to reports from multiple ABC affiliates, Anthony was born in Baton Rouge.

LaShawnna Thompson, a Baton Rouge mother who participated in the march, said the case struck a nerve.

"When I heard the verdict, I was driving. I pulled over, and I cried my heart out. It hits close to home because I have a teenage son and ever since this happened, I go in, I hug him extra tight," said Thompson.

Anthony's defense team has filed an appeal for a new trial and a new judge on the case. Brown said Baton Rouge is just the first stop in an effort to continue raising awareness about upcoming court dates for the appeal.