An Ohio political blogger is scheduled to stand trial after being charged for sending a Republican state senator an explicit, altered image of the cartoon character Shrek. DJ Byrnes, a Columbus-based Substack writer who covers local politics, is accused of transmitting the image as part of communications directed at Sen. Jerry Cirino.

All outlets describe the charge as telecommunications harassment and say the case centers on whether the conduct is protected free speech or constitutes harassment. One outlet also reports that Byrnes allegedly accompanied the image with inflammatory language, describing the senator as “young Mussolini.” The Washington Times adds that Byrnes previously spent time in jail following the allegations, while the New York Post frames the court date as an immediate step toward resolving the dispute over the nature of the message and its legality.