An Ohio blogger called “The Rooster” was prosecuted for sending out NSFW Shrek memes to a state senator. A jury just found him guilty of telecoms harassment in record time.
Cleveland News 5 reports that it just took Lake Region jurors 30 minutes to determine that D.J. Byrnes was guilty of ridiculing Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) with not one but two texted memes of Shrek holding his genitals. While he faced up to 6 months behind bars and a $ 1, 000 fine, the judge in the event reduced sentence to court prices and a $ 200 fine.
Byrnes was reportedly harassing Cirino with the pics following a fallen short bid for Senate head of state. “There is a line to be drawn in between stabilized communication on concerns and plan and votes and et cetera, that permit arrangement and disagreement and lots of argument on a specialist basis,” the senator said in a previous meeting. “There is a line that should not be gone across.”
Well. Shrek has made his debut on the screen today.
Over the test, prosecution has stressed ~ repeatedly ~ the state that Shrek remains in, and the task he is purportedly engaged in. pic.twitter.com/EuLMgus 6 xH
— Morgan Trau (@MorganTrau) October 9, 2026
A picture of the annoying texts at test was censored however showed up to show an image of nude Shrek with words listed below it reviewing, “Great to see you finally made your last embarrassment public, Youthful Mussolini! The Patriots Caucus sends its regards!!!!!!!!!!”
The trial lasted 2 days, during which Byrnes attempted to mount a cost-free speech protection. Among the witnesses gotten in touch with part of the defense was a powerbroker named Bobby Ina. Cirino confessed to texting the lobbyist throughout the trial, which is a large no-no. “You shared a voicemail with The Rooster? Seriously?” the message from Cirino reviewed, according to Ina’s testament.
When asked why he sent the message to Ina, Cirino told Cleveland Information 5 , “Well, I assumed he was a pal … I actually didn’t have any objectives or anything that I was attempting to achieve; it was simply an expression of my surprise.”
Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy for the cost-free speech company FIRE, stated Byrnes must appeal. “The First Change secures the right to criticize government officials, also in crude or vulgar terms,” he uploaded after the verdict came down. “If a solitary digital communication that irritates or surprises the recipient can amount to criminal harassment, that misbehaves news for a lot of social media sites individuals!”
