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Ohio blogger DJ Byrnes to stand trial over explicit Shrek image sent to state senator

Columbus blogger DJ Byrnes, 39, goes on trial in municipal court on a telecommunications harassment charge after texting Republican state Sen. Jerry Cirino an explicit image of Shrek. Byrnes pleaded not guilty and says the texts are protected speech.

2 outlets · 1L · 0C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: New York Post
Image: The Independent

1 / 2

The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2DJ Byrnes, a 39-year-old Columbus political blogger, was due to stand trial on Thursday 8 October 2026 over whether an explicit image of the cartoon character Shrek he sent to Republican state Sen. Jerry Cirino is free speech or harassment. Mixed · 2Byrnes writes The Rooster, a Substack newsletter on Ohio politics, which The Independent describes as progressive. He is charged with telecommunications harassment, a misdemeanor, and has pleaded not guilty. Mixed · 2According to The Independent, Byrnes sent the image on 6 May, and Cirino emailed Kirtland Police Chief Jeremy Fisher two days later to complain, asking for charges because the incident occurred in Kirtland, where he lives. The Independent says an affidavit describes the image as showing Shrek "fully nude with an exposed and erect humanlike penis engaged in an act of masturbation"; the New York Post describes it as Shrek naked and grabbing his crotch.

Mixed · 2The New York Post, citing documents from Byrnes's own motion to dismiss, says he admitted texting Cirino after Cirino dropped out of the race for Ohio Senate president, writing "Good to see you finally made your humiliation public, Young Mussolini. THE PATRIOTS CAUCUS sends its regards!!!!!!!!!!!" Byrnes said the Shrek picture reflected a "longstanding internet meme". The Independent says "young Mussolini" is a nickname he has often used for the senator. Mixed · 2Cirino reportedly replied, "I don't know who this is but I am certain you are a moron." He told the Columbus Dispatch he could not wait for the jury to see the image, and calls the texts "offensive" and "harassing". Mixed · 2Byrnes was arrested inside the Ohio Statehouse on 1 June on a warrant from a then-unnamed complainant, and The Independent says he spent 23 hours in jail before posting bail. He later sold T-shirts bearing his mugshot and the words "never surrender".

Mixed · 2Byrnes argues the texts are protected speech under the First Amendment. The New York Post reports his lawyers' motion to dismiss on those grounds was denied; the Independent doesn't mention the ruling. He says the facts in court will show he is innocent and, on the advice of his lawyer Bill Livingston, will not discuss specifics. If convicted he could face up to six months in prison.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
The Independent leads with the charge and the explicit image, in a detailed, procedural account that gives both Cirino's complaint and Byrnes's free-speech defence.
Emphasis
Cirino's complaint to police, the affidavit's description of the image, jail time, mugshot T-shirts and the maximum penalty.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the denied motion to dismiss or that Byrnes admitted sending the text in court filings.
Charged language
“young Mussolini”
For example
“D.J. Byrnes allegedly referred to Sen. Jerry Cirino as ‘young Mussolini’ and sent him an image of the cartoon Shrek with his penis exposed” — The Independent
“Byrnes put his mugshot on T-shirts with the words “never surrender” and began to sell them.” — The Independent

Centre0 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right1 outlet

Framing
The New York Post frames the case as a free speech versus harassment question, building it from Byrnes's own court filings and portraying him as a confrontational blogger.
Emphasis
Byrnes's admission in his motion to dismiss, the text's wording, the meme defence and Cirino's "moron" reply.
Leaves out or plays down
Leaves out jail time, the bail, the six-month maximum penalty and the May dates of the complaint.
Charged language
“confrontational chronicler”“mercilessly covered”“crass cartoon”“cuffed”
For example
“Byrnes, a confrontational chronicler of Ohio politics, was cuffed inside the Ohio State Capitol on June 1” — New York Post
“a Republican who the blogger had mercilessly covered in a race for the Ohio Senate presidency” — New York Post