Republican received a text with Mussolini and Shrek — so he sent the sender to jail

A self-identified pro-free speech Ohio state senator sent an Ohio gossip blogger to jail for sending a text message that compared the Republican to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini — and included a sexually explicit image of the Dreamworks cartoon character Shrek.

“D.J. Byrnes—an Ohio blogger who runs a Statehouse gossip Substack called The Rooster—was arrested on a misdemeanor warrant at the Ohio Statehouse,” observed Reason’s Meagan O’Rourke on Tuesday. “Byrnes' arrest, according to reporting by Signal Ohio, likely stems from a picture he texted to state Sen. Jerry Cirino (R–Kirtland) on May 6. The offending image? A ‘digitally altered version of Shrek, the ogre with a titular children's movie franchise, with his p---- exposed,’ according to Signal Ohio.”

O’Rourke added, “Police records did not identify Cirino by name, but the outlet confirmed he was the ‘recipient of the text messages based on the text messages themselves and other details within the police report.’” The affidavit described Shrek as engaged in a sexual act in the image, and added that the text exchange also showed Byrnes allegedly calling Cirino “Young Mussolini.”

Cirino reportedly responded by telling the Kirkland police, "Not only is the message harassing but the disgusting picture is pornographic in nature and not something I want to see on any of my devices.” Byrnes was arrested on June 1st and spent 23 hours in custody at the Franklin County Jail before getting released on bond. The writer says he believes he will be found innocent of the telecommunications harassment charges, although if he is not he could face up to six months in jail.

The charges against Byrnes offer a twist in Cirino’s career, as he has previously depicted himself as a staunch supporter of free speech. In a Facebook post in April 2025, Cirino praised The City Club of Cleveland by arguing that it “provides a public forum where people of diverse backgrounds and ideologies can freely share their viewpoints, have important conversations and create lasting, meaningful relationships.” He then added that he shares those ideals, having “dedicated most of my remarks to legislation I sponsored that aims to preserve and uphold intellectual freedom and diversity at Ohio's colleges and universities.”

Cirino sponsored an ultimately-successful bill, SB1, that banned so-called “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion” policies from Ohio colleges and universities.

“We want every student in Ohio, regardless of race, gender, or religion, to be able to pursue

their choice of post-secondary education,” Cirino said about the legislation. “However, DEI programs are inherently discriminatory and cannot be tolerated or paid for by taxpayers.”

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