Does a recording released on social media prove Texas Senate candidate James Talarico was treated at an Ohio mental health facility? Here is what we know: The facility released a statement saying that Talarico "has never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope." Talarico posted a message on X saying that he has never been to Ohio. Talarico's campaign released a statement saying the claim was a "lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory," and he was "home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu."
The recording appeared in a post (archived here) by the @nicksortor account on X on Oct. 11, 2026. It read:
🚨 BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Ohio mental hospital CONFIRMS James Talarico was discharged from the facility earlier this week The "flu" thing was a BIG FAT LIE
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @nicksortor on X.)
This is the full text of what the post said:
🚨 BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Ohio mental hospital CONFIRMS James Talarico was discharged from the facility earlier this week The "flu" thing was a BIG FAT LIE Following reporting by @SaraGonzalesTX and @CarolineWren, a hospital employee told @RheinAmacher and I that Talarico had in fact been a patient at the Lindner Center of Hope near Cincinnati, Ohio, which specializes in around-the-clock mental health treatment. While I sympathize with those dealing with mental health crises, this man is CLEARLY not suited to become a US Senator representing over 30 MILLION TEXANS. The job doesn't get easier after being elected -- it only gets MORE stressful. And Talarico clearly can't handle it. I pray he gets the help he needs, but Texans need a real representative they can rely on.
Here is the post embedded from X at the time of writing:
🚨 BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Ohio mental hospital CONFIRMS James Talarico was discharged from the facility earlier this week The "flu" thing was a BIG FAT LIE Following reporting by @SaraGonzalesTX and @CarolineWren, a hospital employee told @RheinAmacher and I that Talarico had in fact been a patient at the Lindner Center of Hope near Cincinnati, Ohio, which specializes in around-the-clock mental health treatment. While I sympathize with those dealing with mental health crises, this man is CLEARLY not suited to become a US Senator representing over 30 MILLION TEXANS. The job doesn't get easier after being elected -- it only gets MORE stressful. And Talarico clearly can't handle it. I pray he gets the help he needs, but Texans need a real representative they can rely on.
-- Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) October 11, 2026
On Oct. 11, Sortor released the recording and claimed it proved Talarico had been a patient at the Lindner Center of Hope. Sortor also claimed Talarico was hiding that fact from the public. In the 47-second recording posted on X, a man is calling and speaking with a woman who confirms she is with Lindner Hope in Mason, Ohio. This is a transcript of their conversation:
Man: Ok, so nothing for James Talarico?
Woman: Uh. Let's see. Looks. Well. This is what it is today. Looks like he was just discharged this evening. That's why I don't have it.
Man: Oh, he was discharged then?
Woman: Mmhmm
Man: Ok, and this is the Hope. Let me make sure I have the right...this is the Hope Lindner?
Woman: Yes, uh huh.
Man: Ok, and you're in Hamilton, Ohio?
Woman: No, we're not in Hamilton, we're in Mason.
Man: Ok, so that's why he's not in the system, he's been recent. Ok, alright. Thank you.
Woman: Thank you. Good bye.
The claim that Talarico was in the mental health facility gained traction after he was not seen in public for nine days, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 9, 2026. His office released a statement that he had the flu and had been recovering at home. He appeared in person on Oct. 9 at the Austin City Limits music festival, according to the Texas Tribune (archived here).
The Lindner Center of Hope posted a statement on its X account @LindnerCtrHope (archived here) on Oct. 11, 2026, after the recording was released by Sortor on X. It read: "Representative James Talarico has never received treatment from Lindner Center of Hope." This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @LindnerCtrHope on X.)
Talarico posted a message with the Lindner statement on his own X account @jamestalarico (archived here) on Oct. 11, 2026 that read, "I've never even been to Ohio 😂." This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @jamestalarico on X.)
Talarico's campaign spokesman JT Ennis posted a statement on his X account @jt_ennis (archived here) on Oct. 11, 2026, after Sortor released the recording. It read, "This is a lie designed to promote a pathetic conspiracy theory. Last week James Talarico was home in Austin, Texas recovering from the flu." This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @jt_ennis on X.)
Talarico gave an interview to MS NOW (archived here) on Oct. 11, denying that he was at the mental health facility:
"I had the flu," he said in an exclusive interview with MS NOW. "This is the craziest thing I've ever heard. It's wild that someone can just post something on the internet and then the media just runs with it."
