University of Michigan student body president Chris Armstrong has filed a lawsuit against former Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell, who was fired in November of last year for a series of blog posts that targeted Armstrong for being gay.
The suit was filed on Friday in Washtenaw County Circuit Court, and asks for more than $25,000 in damages for “defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, abuse of process, invasion of privacy, and stalking.”
According to David Jesse of the Detroit Free-Press, Armstrong’s attorney Deborah Gordon said of Shirvell: “At this point, it’s not about the money. Mr. Shirvell has refused to retract any of his bizarre and untruthful points. We want to set the record straight.”
Beginning last April, Shirvell began posting on his blog about Armstrong, describing him as “a radical homosexual activist” who wants “to promote a very deeply radical agenda at the University of Michigan.” He also photoshopped a picture of Armstrong with the word “resign” over his face, alongside a rainbow flag with a swastika in the middle. Over the next few months, Shirvell continued reporting on Armstrong and his friends’ Facebook activity, and showing up at school events, parties where Armstrong was present, and even outside of Armstrong’s parents house with picket signs.
Shirvell was fired from the Attorney General’s office in November.
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