Around 9am on Sunday, I received several frantic calls and texts from a Republican operative who claimed to have proof that James Talarico, the Democratic Senate candidate on the verge of turning Texas blue for the first time in decades, had checked into a mental health facility for psychiatric care.
asserted
Talarico → receive → care
The so-called proof was a six-minute recording of a phone call to the Lindner Center of Hope, a hospital in Mason, Ohio more than 1,000 miles from Talarico's hometown of Austin.
asserted
proof → call → Austin
An edited version of the recording was later made public on social media and spread like wildfire before it was debunked.
asserted
it → edit → wildfire
In the audio, a staff member repeatedly says she cannot find a patient by Talarico's name.
asserted
she → say → name
First she says there is no record of him being there in the past four days and later, she contradicts herself and says he had been 'discharged this evening… that's why I don't have it.'
asserted
I → say → it
The health facility has since stated that Talarico 'never received treatment' there and Talarico responded to the audio by saying he has never even been to Ohio.
asserted
he → state → Ohio
Like many other reporters in Texas and across the country, I had been looking into why Talarico mysteriously took 10 days off in the middle of a historic election and one of the most watched campaigns in the country.
asserted
Talarico → look → country
His absence included canceling public events, as well as private fundraisers, something rarely done in such a high-stakes race.
asserted
absence → include → race
Talarico, 37, reappeared at an Austin music festival on Friday and his campaign team had maintained since September 30 that the diabetic candidate was suffering from a bad bout of flu.
asserted
candidate → reappear → flu
But false rumors had been circulating in Republican circles that he had been struggling with his mental health under the pressure of campaigning and that he may have sought treatment in Ohio.
uncertain
he → circulate → Ohio
When I was approached with the recording on Sunday, I was told the Daily Mail had to publish the recording 'immediately'.
asserted
Mail → approach → recording
We declined.
asserted
We → decline → ?
In his last public appearance on September 30, Talarico spoke with Hispanic voters via Zoom, informing them he could not attend the event in person due to having the flu
Democrat James Talarico responded to false claims that he a patient at mental health unit in Ohio
There were serious questions about the recording's authenticity and about how the information had been obtained, and whether Talarico's privacy had been violated in the process.
Unhappy with that answer, the caller, Rhein Amacher- whose real name is Ryan- who claims to be a former Trump staffer, gave the recording to paid GOP influencer Nick Sortor.
Sortor published an edited version of the call on X on Sunday afternoon, where it racked up millions of views in a matter of hours and caught the attention of Elon Musk, who boosted it by commenting: '!!'
uncertain
who → speak → it
Within hours, the Ohio health center shut down the rumors, stating that the young politician has 'never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope.'
In the unedited recording given to the Daily Mail, Amacher poses as a man named 'Tim' who is trying to send a care package to his cousin, Talarico.
asserted
who → shut → cousin
On the first, he had been told he could not get any information without a code from the patient.
uncertain
he → tell → patient
In his second attempt, Amacher gives a fake code, which the staff member struggles to match to any patient.
asserted
member → give → patient
'He must have checked out then,' Amacher suggests.
uncertain
Amacher → check → ?
'I do not see that name here, so maybe he's been discharged,' says the staff member, who appears to be an elderly woman.
asserted
who → see → name
Amacher presses her on when he left.
asserted
he → press → her
After a long pause, she comes back on the line: 'I do not find anyone by that name for the last four days, that's been discharged, and they're not here in the building.
asserted
they → come → building
Talarico was seen at the music festival in Austin, Texas on Friday after a prolonged absence
Talarico canceled an October 5 event with black voters in Austin
Only when Amacher keeps pushing does she contradict herself: 'What is today… looks like he was just discharged this evening.
asserted
he → see → herself
That's why I don't have it.'
asserted
I → have → it
That line was the one featured in the shortened clip that went viral.
asserted
that → feature → clip
But the timeline does not add up.
asserted
timeline → add → ?
Amacher admits he made the call on Saturday night, when Talarico and his girlfriend were in the front row at a Kacey Musgraves concert in Austin.
asserted
Talarico → admit → Austin
When I asked Amacher to explain the discrepancy on Monday morning, he said: 'You can basically discharge without paperwork, and you know, the paperwork usually follows.
asserted
paperwork → ask → paperwork
It's not all at once, but she confirmed that he was there.
asserted
he → confirm → ?
The dates might not line up perfectly.
uncertain
dates → line → ?
Amacher, a Republican who wants Ken Paxton to win the election, says he came up with the idea of calling the Ohio facility after it was circulated online as the place Talarico had spent his time off.
asserted
Talarico → want → time
'[Talarico] … doesn't get called out enough,' he told the Daily Mail.
asserted
he → call → Mail
While Republicans claimed Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was being discharged from a mental health hospital in Ohio, he was actually at a Kacey Musgraves concert in the Lone Star State Saturday night
Talarico, 37, finally resurfaced at Austin City Limits Music Festival after a 13-day absence from the campaign trail
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Republican candidate for US Senate Ken Paxton (R) during a campaign rally at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas, on October 7, 2026
Ryan Amacher, 36, admitted to making the phone call at the center of a conspiracy theory about James Talarico.
asserted
Amacher → claim → Talarico
Amacher told Daily Mail this photo of him used as Twitter profile pic is AI generated
'I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty.
asserted
hands → tell → pic
I want the public to know what he's been doing.'
asserted
he → want → what
He denies being paid by Paxton, Talarico's opponent in the Senate race.
asserted
He → deny → race
Paxton's team helped fuel the speculation last week by tipping off reporters about potential mental health issues.
asserted
team → help → issues
His campaign alleged, without proof, that Talarico, was not recovering from flu but had suffered a mental breakdown and checked into a mental health facility.
asserted
Talarico → allege → facility
Legal experts said Talarico likely has grounds to sue Amacher for trying to obtain his private health information, which is protected under federal law.
asserted
which → say → law
Asked whether he was afraid of being sued, Amacher said he had yet to hear anything directly from Talarico or his campaign.
asserted
he → ask → Talarico
'I didn't do anything wrong.
asserted
I → do → anything
All I said was I want to send him a care package.
asserted
I → say → package
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
