Political blogger D.J. Byrnes, who is accused of harassing a Ohio state senator, says a criminal case against him should be thrown out on constitutional grounds.
Byrnes, who writes a Substack account called The Rooster, texted an image of cartoon character Shrek with an erect penis to state Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland. Cirino filed a police report, describing Byrnes' messages as pornographic and harassing. A municipal court judge signed an arrest warrant.
Days later, the Ohio Senate's sergeant-at-arms called the Kirtland police dispatcher to ask about the warrant and put the wheels in motion for Byrnes' arrest at the statehouse on June 1, according to audio recording that Byrnes' attorney obtained through discovery. Four state patrol troopers arrested Brynes hours later and Byrnes was held in jail overnight, even after posting bail.
Byrnes pleaded not guilty to telecommunications harassment. He filed a motion to dismiss the case July 29.
"The extraordinary manner in which this misdemeanor complaint was executed illustrates precisely why courts must exercise special vigilance when criminal statutes are invoked against political speech," Byrnes' motion to dismiss says.
Byrnes is arguing that the text messages to Cirino are constitutionally protected free speech and that Ohio's telecommunications harassment law is unconstitutional because it's too broad.
"The Constitution does not permit the government to transform protected political speech into a criminal offense simply because the public official who received it found it offensive," Byrnes says in his filing.
Byrnes stalks the halls of the Ohio Statehouse, picking up stories and capturing politicos on camera. He can be both charming and confrontational.
In court filings, he says his rapport with Cirino started out friendly but chilled as Byrnes increasingly wrote more critically about the powerful state senator. Byrnes called Cirino "Young Mussolini."
Cirino has declined to comment on the case.
Byrnes said he rejected plea deal offers. A jury trial is scheduled for Oct. 8 in Willoughby Municipal Court.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at [email protected] and @lbischoff on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio political blogger The Rooster wants criminal case dismissed