In one of the more unusual criminal cases in Ohio, political blogger D.J. Byrnes is scheduled to stand trial in municipal court on Oct. 8 for sending an obscene image of Shrek to a state senator.
Byrnes, of Columbus, has pleaded not guilty to telecommunications harassment, a misdemeanor.
Byrnes is arguing that the text messages to state Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, are constitutionally protected free speech and that Ohio's telecommunications harassment law is unconstitutional because it's too broad.
Cirino disagrees. "It was offensive. It was harassing. It needs to stop. I guess it's going to trial," he said. "I can't wait for the jury to see the image that he sent to me."
Here is how the case unfolded:
Byrnes, who writes a Substack account called
The Rooster, texted an image of cartoon character Shrek with an erect penis to Cirino. The senator filed a police report, describing Byrnes' messages as pornographic and harassing. A municipal court judge signed an arrest warrant.
Days later, the Ohio Senate's sergeant-at-arms called the Kirtland police dispatcher to ask about the warrant and put the wheels in motion for Byrnes' arrest at the statehouse on June 1, according to audio recording that Byrnes' attorney obtained through discovery. Four state patrol troopers arrested Brynes hours later and Byrnes was held in jail overnight, even after posting bail.
Ever the entrepreneur and provocateur, Byrnes put his jail mugshot on a t-shirt with the words "never surrender" on it and started offering them for sale just after his release.
A jury trial is scheduled for Oct. 8 in Willoughby Municipal Court.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blogger faces trial over obscene Shrek image sent to Ohio senator
