A naked Shrek meme landed an Ohio political blogger in court in a case that has raised concerns about free speech.
D.J. Byrnes was found guilty Friday of telecommunications harassment after sending a Republican state senator an explicit meme of the cartoon character Shrek.
Byrnes is a Columbus-based political blogger who goes by the name “The Rooster.” He’s known for his irreverent humor and coverage of Ohio politics. His Instagram account has amassed more than 46,000 followers and features videos of him hounding lawmakers at the statehouse.
But he apparently flew too close to the sun in May when he sent Republican state Sen. Jerry Cirino a series of text messages, calling him “Young Mussolini.”
The messages also included an explicit image of Shrek. According to an affidavit accompanying the arrest report, the cartoon character was depicted as “fully nude with an exposed and erect humanlike penis engaged in an act of masturbation.” You can see it for yourself here, but fair warning that it comes as advertised.
It turns out Byrnes and Cirino have some history. The blogger has repeatedly criticized the senator and claims his coverage played a role in Cirino losing his bid to become Ohio Senate president.
After Cirino officially dropped out of the race, Byrnes taunted him with the text messages and Shrek meme on May 6.
Two days later, Cirino emailed Kirtland Police Chief Jamey Fisher to file a harassment complaint against Byrnes, according to Signal Ohio.
“Not only is the message harassing but the disgusting picture is pornographic in nature and not something I want to see on any of my devices,” wrote Cirino in the email.
Byrnes was arrested at the Ohio Statehouse on June 1 and spent approximately 23 hours in jail before posting bond.
The Ohio Capital Journal points out that Cirino had previously described Judge Marisa L. Cornachio, who signed the arrest warrant, as a “good friend” and donated at least $2,500 to her judicial campaign in 2016.
“I obviously know a lot of the people here in Lake County, including many elected officials. That’s not the same thing as, as trying to use undue influence and using my, my position,” Cirino told the Ohio Capital Journal when asked about his relationship to the judge. “I would never do that. I respect my position in the Senate way too much to ever let that happen.”
Meanwhile, the trial was overseen by a different judge and ended Friday with a jury finding Byrnes guilty of telecommunications harassment, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Judge Michael Cicconetti ordered the blogger to pay a $200 fine and cover court costs.
Still, free speech advocates have argued that Byrnes’ messages were protected political speech.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) published a blog post back in June about the case, arguing that the First Amendment protects speech criticizing government officials even when it’s vulgar. The organization noted that the image was sent to an adult alongside political commentary.
“That’s protected political mockery, not obscenity,” FIRE wrote.
Following the trial, Byrnes took to social media to criticize the trial, claiming that the judge had ruled that the First Amendment did not apply to his case and that his attorneys could not use it as a defense.
“But yeah, I’d have no problem with the conviction if I had sent some random person, and not one of the top four most powerful politicians in Ohio, a nude Shrek,” wrote Byrnes in a Bluesky post. “But it wasn’t that. It was attached to political commentary on his downfall.”
