Andrew Shirvell, the former Michigan Assistant Attorney General who, for six months, waged an online campaign against the University of Michigan’s openly gay student body president, now says he’s the real victim, and that his reputation and livelihood have been ruined.
Last month, Chris Armstrong, 21, filed the suit against Shirvell, seeking more than $25,000 in damages.
Armstrong’s suit claims Shirvell “developed a bizarre personal obsession” with him in early 2010 after claiming the student was a radical homosexual activist.
Shirvell used his blog to continuously attack and harass Armstrong, calling him a “racist, elitist and liar,” and “Satan’s representative on the student assembly.”
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Now Shirvell has asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, saying he was just exercising his First Amendment rights.
In the filing, Shirvell claims that Armstrong pursued a “course of action” against him “to make an example out of (me) in order to deter others from criticizing (Armstrong’s) homosexual activist agenda.”
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At the time of his firing, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox said, via a press release, that Shirvell was guilty of conduct unbecoming of a state law enforcement official and utilizing state resources to persecute and harass Armstrong.
The state bar’s Attorney Grievance Commission is also investigating Shirvell’s actions because Armstrong has also filed an ethics complaint seeking his disbarment.
