Jury convicts progressive blogger of telecommunications harassment for explicit Shrek image
A Lake County jury convicted a progressive blogger of telecommunications harassment for an explicit image of the Shrek cartoon character he sent to a prominent conservative lawmaker.
D.J. Byrnes, who publishes as The Rooster, faces a $200 fine and court costs after the conviction but avoids jail time. The first-degree misdemeanor charge carries a $1,000 fine and a potential sentence of up to six months in jail.
Jurors deliberated for less than 30 minutes following a one-day trial at Willoughby Municipal Court.
“None of us deserve to be treated in a harassing fashion,” Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, said, Signal Ohio reported.
At the time of the exchange, Cirino was vying to be the next president of the state Senate. The lawmaker eventually withdrew.
According to a Cleveland.com report, Byrnes texted Cirino the explicit image on May 6, referred to the lawmaker as “Young Mussolini,” and taunted him for dropping out of the Senate president race.
“This was about protecting my rights as an individual, which I decided to take up here, and the jury obviously agreed that harassment was the intent,” Cirino told Cleveland’s News Channel 5 following the verdict.
Byrnes was arrested after the lawmaker reported the texts to police in June, and Ohio State Highway Patrol officers arrested the progressive commentator at the Ohio Statehouse.
Judge Michael Cicconetti also declined to issue a no-contact order, Axios reported. Byrnes has 30 days to appeal, Columbus’ WCMH-TV reported.
Prosecutor Matthew Lallo said Byrnes had “no legitimate purpose to send that photo,” arguing Byrnes sent it only to harass Cirino, according to Cleveland.com.
“That’s the nature of politics in the United States of America,” Byrnes’ attorney Michael Murray told the Cleveland outlet, likening the image to a political cartoon. He argued that while the image was crude, it was protected speech, according to the report.
Byrnes ran as a Democrat for the District 80 seat in the Ohio House of Representatives. Republican Jena Powell defeated Byrnes in the Nov. 6, 2018, general election.
“There are opportunities around the Statehouse for continued harassment to occur,” Cirino told News Channel 5. “Obviously, he’s free to write on his blog whatever he wants. I just don’t want to be accosted in the Statehouse in the future.”
