Blogger Found Guilty of Harassment Over Shrek Meme

A blogger referred to as “Rooster” has been convicted of harassment after he confessed to sending an explicit meme featuring Shrek to an Ohio politician.

In just half an hour, a jury in Lake County, Ohio, reached a guilty verdict against Donald “D.J.” Byrnes, deeming him guilty of telecommunications harassment for the text message sent to state Senator Jerry Cirino, a Republican.

Byrnes faced a potential penalty of up to six months in jail, along with a $1,000 fine, but the judge opted for a lighter sentence, ordering him to pay a mere $200 in addition to court costs.

The inappropriate messages included a meme depicting the Shrek character in a sexual manner, alongside two texts that mocked Cirino after he withdrew from the race for Ohio Senate president.

Cirino remarked, “This wasn’t a free speech issue; this was a harassment statute that I believed he was in violation of,” following the announcement of the verdict.

While prosecutors sought a no-contact order against Byrnes, the judge declined this request.

In his defense, Byrnes emphasized his right to free speech, arguing that Cirino was leveraging his political power to retaliate against him. Cirino refuted these claims, even though he had donated at least $2,500 to the judge who authorized the warrant for Byrnes’ arrest—though a different judge oversaw the case itself.

Cirino insisted, “I would never do that. I respect my position in the Senate way too much to ever let that happen,” in an interview with WEWS-TV.

Interestingly, Cirino had reached out to one of the trial’s witnesses in what could be interpreted as an annoyed message, but he later claimed it was merely a surprise reaction.

According to reports from WEWS, Byrnes expressed surprise and laughter when the jury’s verdict was revealed. He has plans to appeal the decision.

Aaron Terr, director of public policy for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, commented, “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!”