As of this morning, there’s no update at The Rooster, a Substack news outlet whose author was convicted Friday in Willoughby Municipal Court on one count of telecommunications harassment for sending an obscene text to a state lawmaker.
Columbus-based blogger D.J. Byrnes writes The Rooster, a prominent progressive political Substack publication known for its irreverent, combative, and unfiltered commentary on Ohio politics and statehouse figures. Functioning as a self-described political gadfly, the publication blends original investigative reporting, public records requests, and sharp satire to challenge the state’s conservative political establishment.
Byrnes has built a loyal, subscriber-supported readership through his aggressive, direct-confrontation style—an approach that frequently makes national headlines, as it did during his two-day trial in front of an eight-person jury. The charge: telecommunications harassment for texting state Sen. Jerry Cirino “two taunting messages and a meme of the (cartoon character) Shrek holding his genitals”. It took the jury just 30 minutes to reach that verdict, according to news reports.
