Former Mich. State Official Faces Suit for 'Stalking' Gay Student

Former Michigan assistant state attorney general Andrew Shirvell lost his job last fall after launching an online campaign against the openly gay president of the student body at the University of Michigan, Chris Armstrong. Now Shirvell faces a lawsuit from Armstrong as well, reported the Detroit Free Press on April 5.

Shirvell waged a six-month campaign against Armstrong last year, and defended it as political speech when his postings sparked national media interest. Among other actions targeting Chris Armstrong, Andrew Shirvell posted images of Armstrong at a blog called Chris Armstrong Watch and made a number of claims against Armstrong, including accusations that the young man has seduced fellow students in order to coax them into a "homosexual lifestyle," and charging that an orgy took place in Armstrong's dorm room, reported CNN.com in a Sept. 29 article. Shirvell's blog was maintained under the name "Concerned Michigan Alumnus," the article said.

Shirvell appeared on the program on Sept. 28, 2010 to explain why he had spent so much time and energy "protesting" the college student. Before broadcasting the interview, Cooper showed images taken from the blog, including one of Armstrong that had been written over with the word "Resign." A rainbow flag sporting a swastika had been added to the photo, with an arrow pointing from the flag to Armstrong.

Cooper reported that the blog called Armstrong a "privileged pervert," and accused him of "sexual escapades at churches and children's playgrounds." Shirvell also called Armstrong "Satan's representative on the student assembly," and referred to the young man as a "Nazi-like recruiter for the cult that is homosexuality," and accused the young man of being "racist and elitist to the core."

Prior to the broadcast of his interview with Shervill, Cooper told viewers, "This is a public figure, a grown-up, fixating on a 21-year-old college student, dedicating a blog to vilifying him, scouring his Facebook page, making unproven allegations."

In his interview with Shervill, Cooper asked the assistant attorney general about his apparent "obsession" with Armstrong. Shervill responded that previous to his blog, anti-gay Christian organization the Alliance Defense Fund had issued an "alert" about the young man.

A May 2 posting at Chris Armstrong Watch made the same claim, reading, "The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF)--a nationally respected legal foundation dedicated to defending religious freedom--has put out an ALERT about Chris Armstrong, the MILITANT HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVIST who has recently become the new student body president at the University of Michigan.

"The ADF's warning shows that Armstrong's radical agenda for the Michigan Student Assembly represents a very serious threat to the religious liberties of Michigan students, and in particular Christians," the blog posting continued.

"The substance of the matter is, Anderson, Chris Armstrong is a radical homosexual activist who got elected partly funded by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund to promote a very deeply radical agenda at the University of Michigan," Shirvell told Cooper.

A Sept. 29, 2010, Gay Politics posting said that Armstrong had interned with the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, an organization that provides campaign money for GLBT politicians in races around the country. The assertion that the Fund had provided money to Armstrong to win the post of president of the student assembly at the university, Gay Politics reported, "is false. While interning at Victory, Armstrong attended the organization's Candidate and Campaign Training, which he has credited with helping him learn how to build a campaign, but the Victory Fund does not endorse or fund student government campaigns."

Attorney General Mike Cox initially defended Shirvell's right to post what he wanted to on his own time, saying it was a matter of free speech. But Cox also denounced Shirvell for his "immaturity and lack of judgment." An episode in which Shirvell stood outside Armstrong's home taking footage with a video camera raised serious doubts even to Cox, who told the Associated Press in an Oct. 1 article that, "Part of the video [shows] this young man's house at 1:30 on a Sunday morning. Clearly, I wouldn't recommend that to any state employee to be doing. That being said," Cox continued, "it's not something where I can walk in one day and say, 'I don't like what he has on there, let's broom him.' He has First Amendment protections."

But in the wake of media attention on what Anderson Cooper characterized as Shirvell's "obsession" with Armstrong, Shirvell took personal leave from his job and a spokesperson for Cox told the media that Shirvell faced the prospect of disciplinary proceedings upon his return, reported the Detroit News on Oct. 1, 2010.

The state's department of civil service spokesperson, Matt Fedorchuk, noted that state employees can be fired for "just cause," with "conduct unbecoming a state employee" being considered adequate grounds.

Shirvell eventually lost his job with the state after it was determined that he had used government computers in his online campaign against Armstrong. An investigation also determined that Shirvell had falsely claimed not to have used computers at work for his personal project.

The Detroit Free Press reported that Armstrong had filed a $25,000 suit against Shirvell, alleging that the former assistant state attorney general had "stalked" him out of a "bizarre personal obsession."

"This guy has behaved so irresponsibly, especially for an attorney," Deborah Gordon, an attorney for Armstrong, said. "He's a rebel without a cause." The attorney went on to tell the media, "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."

The article said that Armstrong also sought to have Shirvell disbarred.

In his interview with Shirvell, Anderson Cooper addressed the issue of cyber-bullying, and asked Shirvell whether he fit the description of a cyber-bully, given the accusations he had posted online against Armstrong.

"No, I'm totally not--and that's a totally mischaracterization," Shirvell responded.

"Do you consider yourself a bigot?" Cooper asked.

"Absolutely not," Shirvell replied. "I'm a Christian citizen exercising my First Amendment rights. I have no problem with the fact that Chris is a homosexual," added Shirvell. "I have a problem with the fact that he is advancing a very radical agenda."

"It seems like you hate this guy because he's gay," Cooper said.

"Well, Anderson, that's your spin on it," Shirvell replied. "The real bigot here is Chris Armstrong." Shirvell went on to add, "He's a political figure, Anderson," adding, "I have a right as an alum and as a private citizen to criticize him in my after-hours work."

Throughout the half-year of attacks that the blog has aimed at him, Armstrong refused to fire back. But on Sept. 27, 2010, at a meeting of the student assembly, Armstrong did acknowledge the campaign Shirvell had directed against him, saying, "I will not back down. I will not flinch. I will not falter. I will not succumb to any unwarranted attacks," reported the Michigan Daily on Sept. 28, 2010.

"What I will do is I will carry on with the utmost pride and vindication," Armstrong continued. "I, along with the rest of this assembly, was elected to this body to represent the University. And nothing said about us, or regarding our personal merits, will waive our commitment to serve the student body."

Armstrong then appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 and told the program's host, "Given what's happened in the past week, and given the student suicides that have happened in the past few weeks, it's hard not to say something," referring to last summer and fall's rash of suicides by gay teens across the nation who had suffered anti-gay harassment and bullying at school.

"It's important to understand that things can get better, and it's important to know that you can reach out in your community," added Armstrong.

"Did it surprise you that you're out of high school and yet you're suddenly in a position where you're being bullied in a completely unusual way by someone in a position of power?" asked Cooper.

"It was certainly surprising," said Armstrong. Though he referred to Shirvell's blog as being "hurtful," Armstrong added that "the things being said about me are not my issues."

The University of Michigan banned Shirvell--who is a graduate of the university--from campus, but then changed the terms of the ban to allow him access to the campus--but not to areas where Armstrong would also be.