Shirvell

In this Sept. 7, 2010 photo, University of Michigan alumnus and assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell speaks about the University of Michigan's student assembly president Chris Armstrong at a Michigan Student Assembly meeting in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/The Michigan Daily, Marissa McClain)

(Marissa McClain)

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a judgment against fired assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell, who was fired in 2010 for stalking and harassing Chris Armstrong, the University of Michigan's first openly gay student body president.

In January, the state of appeals court denied Shirvell's request for unemployment benefits, saying his firing by then-attorney general Mike Cox was justified because Shirvell's Facebook posts and gay-bashing blog negatively impacted the agency's credibility.

Shirvell expressed his views as a private citizen, but the court said the First Amendment did not protect him because the state provided evidence that his conduct affected government services.

Among other comments, Shirvell called Armstrong "dangerous" and a "radical homosexual activist," and a "major-league fanatic who is obsessed with imposing the radical homosexual agenda on the student body."

Shirvell set up a Facebook page called "Michigan Alumni and Others Against Chris Armstrong's Radical MSA Agenda," which claimed it would "expose the real Chris Armstrong."

Through the page, Shirvell urged others, via Facebook and email, to join the group in order to "fight against Satan's representative." Shirvell took to his personal Facebook page to express outrage when Facebook deleted his "fan page" about Armstrong. He wrote: "I will not be SILENCED by the likes of Armstrong. You're going down fruity-pebbles."

The court's decision to uphold the judgment also came with a dismissal of damages awarded for false light invasion of privacy. The court imposed a $500,000 reduction off the judgment against Shirvell, but he still owes Armstrong $3.5 million stemming from the 2012 jury verdict.

Jeremy Allen is the University of Michigan reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Follow him on twitter at @JeremyAllenA2. Contact him at 810-247-4625 or jallen42@mlive.com. Find other University of Michigan-related stories here on MLive.com.