In Lake County, Ohio, eight jurors convicted Donald “D.J.” Byrnes, a blogger known as “Rooster,” of telecommunications harassment after he sent a sexually explicit image featuring the Shrek cartoon character holding his genitals to state Senator Jerry Cirino.
The jury reached its decision in just 30 minutes. The offensive messages included the meme and two taunting texts sent to Senator Cirino following his withdrawal from the Ohio Senate president race.
Cirino stated, “This wasn’t a free speech issue; this was a harassment statute that I believed he was in violation of.”
Byrnes faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, but the judge sentenced him to pay only $200 plus court costs. Prosecutors had requested a no-contact order, which the judge denied.
Byrnes’ defense argued that free speech protections allow criticism of government officials, even in crude terms, and claimed Senator Cirino retaliated against him using political influence.
Cirino denied any retaliation despite having donated $2,500 to the judge who signed the arrest warrant for Byrnes. A different judge presided over the trial.
Cirino told reporters, “I would never do that. I respect my position in the Senate way too much to ever let that happen.” He had also contacted one witness during the trial but denied doing anything beyond expressing surprise.
Byrnes laughed when he heard the verdict and plans to appeal.
Aaron Terr, director of public policy for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, noted: “The First Amendment protects the right to criticize government officials, even in crude or vulgar terms. If a single electronic communication that annoys or alarms the recipient can amount to criminal harassment, that’s bad news for a lot of social media users.”
