Shirvell used work time to harass Armstrong

More details are emerging from yesterday’s firing of Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell for his persistent criticism and harassment of U of M student leader Chris Armstrong. AG Mike Cox indicated that Shirvell used work time and resources to post his anti-Armstrong sentiments. The Detroit Free Press reports:

Among the examples cited by Cox in the statement:

• Showed up at the home of a private citizen three times, including once at 1:30 a.m. That incident is especially telling because it clearly was about harassing Mr. Armstrong, not engaging in free speech.

• Further engaged in behavior that, while not perhaps sufficient to charge criminal stalking, was harassing, uninvited and showed a pattern that was in the everyday sense, stalking.

• Harassing Armstrong’s friends as they were socializing in Ann Arbor;

• Numerous calls to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, Armstrong’s employer, in an attempt to slander Armstrong — and ultimately attempting to cause Pelosi to fire Armstrong;

• Attempting to “out” Armstrong’s friends as homosexual — several of whom were not gay.

Cox said Shirvell engaged in his campaign against Shirvell on company time and posted attacks on Armstrong on the Internet while at work.

Those items make the case for firing Shirvell far stronger. The things he said about Armstrong on his blog are undoubtedly protected by the First Amendment, but that doesn’t mean he can engage in them while working in the AG’s office. And the repeated phone calls to Armstrong’s boss clearly suggests harassment far more than mere free speech.