Knock at the door: Protesters accuse C-Ville Weekly of "inflaming racial tensions"

Protesters held up a banner referring to an editorial comment made by Cville Weekly editor Giles Morris.

A crowd of protesters gathered in front of the offices of Cville Weekly today, outraged by a December 29 story the local paper ran that, according to one protest organizer, "threw gasoline on the fire of racial tension in our community."

Indeed, the story, titled, "Knockout: Victims of brutal Downtown Mall assault want arrests, and answers from police," told the dramatic and frightening story of a couple, Marc Adams and Jeanne Doucette, who claimed they were randomly targeted during a "late night stroll" on the DTM and brutally beaten by three black males in what they characterized as a "knock out game" style attack carried out for nothing more than vicious sport and fun. The story, after the Drudge Report linked to it, quickly went viral, prompting comments so hateful and racially charged that Cville Weekly had to shut down their comment section. Indeed, the story for many readers, …