Police said the June 21 attack outside Whiskey J’s remains under investigation.
LONGVIEW, TX — Three women have been charged after police said a woman was attacked outside a Longview nightclub on June 21 while witnesses heard people refer to the Karmelo Anthony murder case.
Alana Mumphrey, Ciarrianne Fuller and Dejae Brown, all 21, are charged with assault causing bodily injury, according to court and jail records cited in local reports. The case has drawn attention because an arrest affidavit says people in the crowd made race-based threats and shouted “Free Karmelo” before the victim was beaten. Police said the investigation remains open, and detectives have been in contact with the FBI.
The assault happened outside Whiskey J’s in Longview after a crowd gathered in the parking lot, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. A security guard told police he heard someone in the group say, “The next white woman that walks out, I’m going to hit her,” with an expletive included in the statement. A short time later, the victim left the nightclub and was attacked by several people, the affidavit states. The guard said he stepped in to stop the fight and helped the woman get away from the crowd.
The victim told investigators she did not know her attackers and had not had trouble with anyone inside the bar, according to the affidavit. She suffered injuries to the back of her head and her right eye. She also told police she remembered one suspect wearing an orange wig. Another witness who left the nightclub with the victim told investigators they heard someone say, “Any white girl can get it,” followed by “Free Karmelo,” shortly before the assault began. The affidavit does not say that all people in the crowd took part in the attack, and police have not said whether more arrests are expected.
The phrase appeared to refer to Karmelo Anthony, whose murder case in Collin County has drawn national attention and heated debate online. Anthony, 19, was convicted in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during an altercation at a North Texas high school track meet. A jury sentenced Anthony to 35 years in prison on June 9. His attorneys argued self-defense at trial and are appealing the conviction. Metcalf was white and Anthony is Black, and the case has become a flashpoint for racial tension in protests, public comments and social media posts.
Mumphrey, Fuller and Brown were booked into the Gregg County Jail and later bonded out, according to jail records cited in local reports. Fuller, of Longview, was the first suspect publicly identified after the incident. Mumphrey and Dejae Brown later turned themselves in on June 25, according to local reporting. Police have described the case as an active assault investigation. The charges filed so far are assault causing bodily injury, not a hate-crime charge, though officials have said investigators are reviewing the circumstances around the attack and statements reported by witnesses.
Longview police spokesperson LaDarian Brown said during a June 24 news conference that the department knew the case had caused fear and anger in the community. He said detectives were aware of social media posts that mentioned possible retaliation and that police were working to keep the case focused on the facts. Brown said the department had been in contact with the FBI as investigators reviewed what happened outside the club. Officials did not announce a separate federal case or say whether federal charges were under review.
The scene described in the affidavit began as a late-night crowd outside a bar and turned into a police case with attention far beyond Gregg County. The security guard’s account placed the first threat before the victim walked outside, while the witness account tied the attack to the “Free Karmelo” chant. Investigators used those accounts, the victim’s statement and suspect descriptions to identify the three women charged. The affidavit does not identify the victim by name in public reporting, and police have not released a full list of witnesses.
The next steps in the case will move through Gregg County court records as prosecutors review the assault charges and police complete their investigation. As of Sunday, July 5, Mumphrey, Fuller and Brown had been released on bond, and Longview police had not announced that the investigation was closed. The central questions still before investigators are who took part in the assault, whether more people will be charged and whether the reported statements before the attack will affect how prosecutors handle the case.
Author note: Last updated July 5, 2026.