Asst. AG On Leave After Blog Tirades Against ‘Radical Homosexual’ Student Leader
Updated: A report in the Detroit News this morning said Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox had reversed course and decided to suspend a lawyer in his office who attacked a student leader as a “radical homosexual activist” in his blog.
The newspaper has now published a revised story that says the assistant attorney general, Andrew Shirvell, is on leave, rather than on suspension.
Cox had earlier defended the First Amendment rights of Shirvell, who targeted University of Michigan student assembly president Chris Armstrong in his blog and picketed outside Armstrong’s home. Shirvell claims on his blog that Armstrong tries to recruit new students to “join the homosexual lifestyle” and turned a once-conservative student into a “proponent of the radical homosexual agenda.”
In an interview with CNN, Shirvell acknowledged protesting outside of Armstrong’s house and calling him “Satan’s representative on the student assembly.”
Armstrong closed his blog to the public on Thursday, allowing only “invited readers,” the Michigan Daily reports. Armstrong is seeking an order of protection against Shirvell that will be heard on Monday. The university has also banned Shirvell from its grounds based on complaints that he harassed Armstrong outside his home, the story says.
Updated at 9:45 a.m. to include revisions in Detroit News story.
