Man Faces Criminal Charges For Alleged Violent Threats Against Democratic Senate Candidate

#TexasSenate

CBS Austin: Fort Worth man charged with threatening to kill US Senate candidate James Talarico

A Fort Worth man is facing a criminal charge after investigators say he sent multiple violent threats to Texas state Rep. and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James…

— Politics & Poll Tracker

(@PollTracker2024) September 8, 2026

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Investigators said McFatridge threatened to “slit” Talarico’s throat and drag his body through the streets in messages sent to Talarico’s campaign email and Instagram account in early August.

The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Division was notified of the threats on Aug. 12 by Talarico’s chief of staff.

According to the affidavit, the first message was sent Aug. 3 to Talarico’s campaign email from an account using the name “GANGSTEROFLOVE817.” A second threatening message was sent Aug. 11 through Instagram from an account called “GODFATHEROFLOVE817.”

Investigators obtained search warrants for subscriber information from Google and Meta. Google provided information identifying McFatridge as the owner of the Gmail account, according to the affidavit.

DPS agents interviewed McFatridge at his workplace Aug. 19. Investigators said he admitted owning both accounts and sending the messages but said he did not intend to hurt anyone and “had just wanted to scare” Talarico.

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Trump's super PAC pours $10M into Ken Paxton's Texas Senate race against James Talarico https://t.co/7wNTid7GqF pic.twitter.com/YdMqy9giu1

— New York Post (@nypost) September 6, 2026

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The spending splurge comes as Paxton is polling neck and neck — or even trailing — in the race against Dem state Rep. James Talarico.

It’s just one of eight key midterm Senate races where Republicans appear to be on the back foot.

MAGA Inc. has been sitting on an enormous, nearly $404 million war chest, according to Federal Election Commission records. Some Republicans had been wondering when Trump planned to tap into those deep coffers to boost GOP candidates in what is shaping up to be a bruising election cycle.

In addition to MAGA Inc, the official GOP campaign arms have a massive cash advantage over their Democratic counterparts. The Republican National Committee, for example, has over $130 million cash on hand, per the latest FEC filings.

Paxton cheered the investment in his race, which is set to include about $5 million worth of positive spots about him and $5 million of attack ads against Talarico in the expensive Texas race. Paxton had endured tens of millions of dollars of negative ad buys during his brutal primary against Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) — but ultimately prevailed with Trump’s endorsement after the runoff.

“While James Talarico has a record of raising taxes on working families, my Protecting the Texas Promise Agenda cuts costs and makes life more affordable.” Paxton cheered on X.

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