An Ohio political blogger will go on trial Thursday for allegedly sending a state lawmaker a picture of Shrek with an erect penis.
D.J. Byrnes, 39, publisher of the Ohio political newsletter The Rooster, has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor telecommunications harassment over the bizarre exchange with Republican State Sen. Jerry Cirino.
The saga began after Cirino gave up his bid to become president of the Ohio Senate.
Byrnes, a committed leftist who nicknamed Cirino the “Young Mussolini,” allegedly sent him a taunting message celebrating his political setback.
“Good to see you finally made your humiliation public, Young Mussolini. THE PATRIOTS CAUCUS sends its regards!!!!!!!!!!!” Byrnes wrote, according to court filings.
“I don’t know who this is but I am certain you are a moron,” Cirino responded.
Byrnes allegedly sent the senator a digitally altered image depicting the famous green ogre fully nude with an exposed and erect penis.
Cirino subsequently contacted police, describing the image as “disgusting” and “pornographic in nature” and asking that charges be brought against the sender.
“I would like this harassment to stop immediately,” he wrote.
He was jailed for texting an image of Shrek’s dick to a politician.
The trial starts tomorrow.
Brush up on one of @TheFIREorg‘s most ogre-the-top cases of the year. https://t.co/jYQrtZCAwH
— Daniel Burnett (@Burnett18) October 7, 2026
Byrnes was arrested at the Ohio Statehouse on June 1 by four state troopers and spent nearly 24 hours in jail.
He later turned his mugshot into merchandise emblazoned with the words “never surrender.”
Byrnes rejected two plea agreements that would have allowed him to avoid jail and instead elected to take the Shrek case before a jury.
His lawyers argue that the messages amount to constitutionally protected political mockery rather than criminal harassment.
“This case does not involve repeated telephone calls to a private citizen,” they argued in a motion seeking dismissal.
“It does not involve threats, extortion, stalking, soliciting sex, or attempts to invade another person’s privacy.”
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has also backed Byrnes, arguing that political ridicule of an elected official is protected by the First Amendment.
A judge rejected Byrnes’s attempt to have the prosecution dismissed in August.
Cirino, meanwhile, is looking forward to jurors getting acquainted with the evidence.
“I can’t wait for the jury to see the image that he sent to me,” he recently said.
If convicted of the first-degree misdemeanor, Byrnes faces a maximum of six months in prison.
Ben Kew is a writer and editor. Originally from the UK, he moved to the U.S. to cover Congress for Breitbart News and has since gone on to editorial roles at Human Events, Townhall Media, and Americano Media. He has also written for The Epoch Times, The Western Journal, and The Spectator.
You can email Ben Kew here, and read more of Ben Kew’s articles here.
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