Thinking of Sending a Nude Shrek Pic to an Ohio Official? You Could Be Found Guilty of Harassment.
D.J. Byrnes was found guilty of telecommunications harassment after sending a risqué ogre image to a public official.
A text message containing an image of nude Shrek holding his ogre…appendage…loomed over an Ohio courtroom on Friday, during the prosecution's closing argument in a two-day trial that captured the attention of Ohioans, free speech advocates, and the national media.
"The question is whether you should be entitled to a little bit of privacy and not sent that message," said prosecutor Matthew Lallo.
The message at the center of this trial was sent by Ohio Substack writer D.J. Byrnes (a.k.a. "The Rooster"). Back in May, the blogger sent the racy image of Shrek to state Sen. Jerry Cirino (R–Kirtland). According to Signal Ohio, the blogger was arrested on June 1 after Cirino reported the messages to the Kirtland Police Department. The outlet reported that Byrnes spent 23 hours in jail before posting bail on a misdemeanor telecommunications harassment charge.
According to The New York Times, Byrnes sent the "gloating text messages" after Cirino announced he would no longer run as state Senate president.
An accompanying text to Cirino said, "Good to see you finally made your final humiliation public, Young Mussolini!" Byrnes' message also added, "THE PATRIOTS CAUCUS sends its regards!!!!!!!!!!!"
During Byrnes' trial, which began on Thursday, his defense team argued that the texts were intended as political statements, and they did not constitute harassment. The defense emphasized that Byrnes had frequently criticized Cirino in the past, and the texts were sent in the context of Cirino withdrawing from his bid for state Senate president.
"The point is clear," said Byrnes' attorney during closing statements. "Shrek was exposing himself and so was Senator Cirino, finally exposing himself as he couldn't win the presidency even though months earlier he had predicted that it would be wrapped up by March."
On Friday, the jury sided with the prosecution, finding Byrnes guilty of telecommunications harassment. Byrnes was sentenced to pay court costs and a $200 fine, reported The Ohio Capital Journal.
"This wasn't a free speech issue; this was a harassment statute that I believed he was in violation of," Cirino said after the verdict, according to the outlet.
On Monday, Axios reported that the judge barred Byrnes from raising a First Amendment defense in the trial, "leaving the defense to argue that Byrnes' messages did not satisfy the statutory definition of harassment."
Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, tells Reason he was not surprised by the verdict given the "broad and vague language of Ohio's telecommunications harassment statute." The statute, he notes, "criminalizes sending even a single electronic communication 'with purpose to harass, intimidate, or abuse' the recipient," which "sweeps in a vast amount of constitutionally protected speech."
"It's easy to imagine the same law being used to prosecute social media users who reply to government officials' posts with harsh or vulgar criticism," he says. "If Byrnes appeals, he should and likely will challenge the law's constitutionality."
And the Shrek saga does not seem to be over. According to Axios, Byrnes has "confirmed plans to appeal the ruling." What began as a "Shrext" may end up becoming a serious free speech matter for Ohio's appellate courts.