Columbus blogger arrested for alleged telecommunications harassment

The Rooster has been caged. Police arrested Columbus political blogger D.J. Byrnes, best known as The Rooster, at the Ohio Statehouse on Monday, June 1st.

Byrnes routinely frequents the Statehouse for tips for his semi-controversial blog. During Monday’s trip, he was interrupted by a State Highway Patrol officer who arrested Byrnes on a misdemeanor warrant for telecommunications harassment by the city of Kirtland in Lake County.

According to a May 28th arrest warrant, Barnes allegedly sent two messages on May 6th to a contact with the initials “J.C.” The Kirtland Police Department deemed that the messages were sent with the intent to harass.

Byrnes was taken into custody and spent 23 hours in the Franklin County Jail. The Rooster account on Instagram posted Byrnes’ mugshot with the caption: “The work continues!”

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The Rooster has recently been in the spotlight for a story based on an anonymous tip that the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, attempted to enter the New York Knicks’ locker room after their win against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA playoffs. The story spread to the Ramaswamy camp, and he quickly refuted the claims on his X account.

On Tuesday, The Rooster posted a statement written by Byrnes regarding the arrest. 

“I believe that the facts presented in court will show that I’m innocent of the misdemeanor charge of telecommunications harassment,” Byrnes wrote. “On the advice of my legal counsel, Bill Livingston, I will not be commenting on the specifics of the allegations.”

Byrnes is set to appear in a Lake County court later this week.

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