Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico was caught on video Sunday nodding along as an attendee at his Houston town hall called the murder conviction of Karmelo Anthony “a f*cking tragedy.”
The moment came during the extended question-and-answer portion of Talarico’s town hall at the Kingdom Builders Center in southwest Houston, a majority-black event where the Democrat fielded questions for more than 90 minutes. Talarico did not object as the woman condemned the outcome of the case.
“Our people have getting [sic] killed left and right. Karmelo Anthony’s case is just a f*cking tragedy,” the woman said. “Excuse my language, but it is. But it is. So, what are we going to do to fix those harms?”
A Collin County jury convicted Anthony of murder on June 9 and sentenced him to 35 years in prison for the April 2025 stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco track meet. Jurors rejected the defense’s “sudden passion” argument.
Talarico also agreed with Navy veteran Amanda Meredith, who told the candidate she has “more trauma” living in the United States than she did while stationed overseas.
“Too often we see law enforcement weaponized against black and brown communities in this state,” Talarico said. “We have a deeply broken justice system. We have a deeply broken approach to policing.”
The candidate then invoked the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Houston construction worker who he claimed was “murdered by ICE.” The Department of Homeland Security says the 52-year-old, who was in the country illegally, ignored commands and attempted to ram an officer with his vehicle during a July 7 stop before the officer opened fire. DHS said Salgado Araujo was not the intended target, and the shooting remains under investigation.
“Every resource going after construction workers like Lorenzo Salgado is a resource that’s not going after folks who are actually committing crimes,” Talarico said. He pledged to “build the political will to take federal action” so that law enforcement protects “all of us, not just some of us.”
Talarico faces Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in a tight general election contest this November. The Democrat previously described bills restricting gender-affirming care for minors and the state’s abortion ban as products of a “Christofascism movement.”
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