A Tallahassee Reports public records request has identified the person who sought Orlando Police Department records involving Tallahassee City Commission candidate Talethia Edwards — records concerning issues that later surfaced in the controversial “fake Facebook” political operation connected to the Jeremy Matlow campaign.
According to records obtained by TR, James McAllister submitted two separate requests to the Orlando Police Department seeking information concerning Edwards and a July 4, 2024 incident.
The first request, submitted April 28, 2026, sought “documentation and body camera footage” related to a traffic stop involving Edwards.
A second request, submitted July 8, sought records concerning Edwards’ claim that she received an apology from the Orlando mayor’s office and parking enforcement following a parking citation and vehicle towing.
The records establish that McAllister sought the Edwards information months before the fake Facebook controversy became public. However, the documents obtained by TR do not establish why McAllister requested the information, whether anyone asked him to obtain it, whom he shared it with, or whether his requests had any connection to the Facebook page.
The identity of the requester nevertheless adds information to the public record surrounding a political controversy that erupted during Tallahassee’s 2026 city elections.
Information involving Edwards surfaced through a Facebook page that presented itself as a conservative political operation. The page was subsequently linked to the campaign of mayoral candidate and City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow.
Matlow campaign manager Kris Estanga ultimately took responsibility for the operation and resigned from the campaign. Estanga said she acted independently.
The Orlando records obtained by TR do not show that Matlow, Estanga, P.J. Perez, Ryan Ray or anyone associated with their campaigns directed McAllister to request the Edwards records. Nor do the documents show that McAllister provided the records to Estanga or anyone involved with the Facebook page.
McAllister’s Political Connections
Campaign finance information compiled by TR shows McAllister contributed to both Matlow and City Commission candidate P.J. Perez during the same general period in which the Edwards records were being requested.
McAllister gave Matlow $500 on April 30 — two days after his first Orlando Police Department request — and another $440 on May 29.
He also made several contributions to Perez, including $500 on May 7, $190 on May 13 and $1,000 on Aug. 21. McAllister also gave $300 to the Leon County Democratic Executive Committee.
James McAllister’s wife, Cassie, contributed $2,000 to Perez during the primary and general election cycle.
Estanga also served as Perez’s campaign manager.
McAllister has also written for Florida New Signal, a political news website founded by Ryan Ray, a longtime Matlow aide and chairman of the Leon County Democratic Party.
Material reviewed by TR lists three McAllister articles published by Florida New Signal during the campaign season, including a July 29 article titled “Right-Wing Money Targets Jeremy Matlow in Mayor’s Race.” Other articles addressed judicial politics and candidate-related controversies.
These documented political relationships provide additional context about McAllister’s involvement in local politics but do not, by themselves, establish a connection between his Orlando records requests and the fake Facebook operation.
A Timeline of Records and Political Activity
The timing of McAllister’s records requests overlaps with his political contributions and writing during the 2026 campaign.
McAllister made his first Edwards records request on April 28. Two days later, campaign finance records show he contributed $500 to Matlow.
His second request was submitted July 8. Later that month, Florida New Signal published his article concerning outside political spending in the mayor’s race.
Those dates establish that McAllister was researching Edwards-related matters while also participating in Tallahassee politics through campaign contributions and political writing.
What the documents do not establish is a link between those activities. TR has found no record showing that McAllister obtained the Edwards information at the request of Estanga, Matlow, Perez, Ray or anyone associated with the Facebook page. The records reviewed by TR also do not establish that McAllister provided the information he obtained to any of those individuals.
Unanswered Questions
The public records do not explain why McAllister sought the Edwards records or what he did with the information after receiving it.
Tallahassee Reports asked McAllister if he was involved with the “Fake” Facebook controversy. McAllister declined to answer TR’s questions.
As a result, the purpose of McAllister’s records requests and what happened to the information after he obtained it remain unknown. The documents establish that McAllister sought Edwards-related records from the Orlando Police Department before the fake Facebook controversy became public. They also establish his campaign contributions and political activities described above.
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