Political blogger D.J. Byrnes has been convicted of telecommunications harassment after sending an explicit, digitally altered image of the cartoon ogre Shrek to an American state senator. The conviction followed a 30-minute jury deliberation in Lake County, Ohio, USA.
Byrnes, who runs the left-leaning Substack newsletter The Rooster, sent the image in a text message to Republican State Senator Jerry Cirino. The message taunted Cirino for dropping out of the race for Ohio Senate president, branding him "Young Mussolini" alongside the obscene graphic. Cirino forwarded the text to Kirtland Police Chief Jamey Fisher.
Arrest and charges
State Highway Patrol officers arrested Byrnes inside the Ohio Statehouse in June 2026, holding him in jail for 23 hours. Byrnes' team claimed the arrest was political retaliation.
"I am officially filing a complaint and am asking that the Kirtland Police Department take appropriate actions," Cirino wrote to police, adding that Byrnes had harassed him in the past and he did not want to see the "pornographic" image. "I would like this harassment to stop immediately and I would like charges filed against the individual."
Trial and verdict
During the trial at Willoughby Municipal Court, Byrnes' lawyers likened the lewd image to a crude political cartoon, arguing that vulgar commentary directed at elected officials is constitutionally protected under free speech laws, the New York Times reported. Prosecutors countered that sending sexually explicit images from an unknown number served no purpose other than pure harassment.
Testifying in court, Cirino insisted: "This wasn't a free speech issue; this was a harassment statute that I believed he was in violation of. There is a line to be drawn between normalised interaction on issues and policy... There is a line that shouldn't be crossed."
The jury found Byrnes guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor. Visiting Judge Michael Cicconetti ordered him to pay a $200 (£151) fine plus court costs and issued an order for no further contact with Cirino. Byrnes' legal team has confirmed they intend to appeal the verdict.
