Political blogger D.J. Byrnes was found guilty of telecommunications harassment following a two-day trial in Willoughby Municipal Court, Ohio. An eight-person jury convicted Byrnes after he sent state Sen. Jerry Cirino a digitally altered, explicit image of the cartoon character Shrek and taunting messages in May.
Jury Convicts Political Blogger in Willoughby Trial
An eight-person Lake County jury deliberated for thirty minutes on Friday at the Willoughby Municipal Court to reach the verdict. D.J. Byrnes, a 39-year-old Columbus-based provocateur and publisher of the political Substack newsletter The Rooster, let out a surprised laugh as the guilty verdict was read. Judge Michael Cicconetti ordered him to cover court costs and pay a $200 fine instead of imposing the maximum six months of jail time and $1,000 fine.
Kirtland law director Matthew Lallo represented the prosecution.
Byrnes Sends Provocative Texts After Senate Bid Fails
The case originated from a May 6 digital exchange between Byrnes and state Sen. Jerry Cirino, a Republican from Kirtland. Tension between the two had intensified in 2025 when Cirino launched a campaign to lead the upper chamber of the Ohio legislature.
Cirino withdrew his bid for Senate president after the Ohio primary in May, effectively handing the leadership position to Senator Bill Reineke. Byrnes texted Cirino to mock the failed campaign following that withdrawal.
Defense Attorney Claims Satirical Commentary
Defense attorney Bill Livingston argued that Byrnes was targeted for engaging in political speech about and to an elected official. Livingston contended that the crude meme served as satirical commentary on political weakness rather than criminal harassment, comparing it to reporting by The Rooster on Cirino’s withdrawal from the senate race when the senator had exposed himself
politically after expressing earlier confidence.
Statehouse lobbyist Bobby Ina introduced testimony featuring a voicemail in which Cirino asked for a campaign donation. Public records also showed that Cirino called the judge who signed Byrnes’ arrest warrant a good friend
in late April and donated at least $2,500 to her political campaign in 2016, though a different judge ultimately presided over the trial.
Burt Neuborne, a professor emeritus at New York University Law School, observed that the courtroom clash involved whether very powerful people get to shut down any speech that annoys them, or whether unruly speech must be tolerated in a free society. Danielle Citron, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, countered that harassment and stalking laws apply equally to citizens and elected officials, warning that severe digital harassment can harm a politician’s mental health and safety.
Cirino Defends Verdict as Defense Prepares Appeal
Cirino asserted that this wasn’t a free speech issue; this was a harassment statute that I believed he was in violation of, remarking after the verdict that the proceedings dealt strictly with statutory boundaries rather than constitutional rights and concerned his personal rights which the law is meant to safeguard.
Byrnes declined to comment directly through his legal team, but his attorneys stated in court filings that they plan to appeal the conviction. The Rooster continues to reach its 15,000 subscribers.
