https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190818/23030042816/slapp-threats-dont-even-need-to-become-lawsuits-to-be-effective-cop-gets-columnist-fired-pointing-to-picture-him-with-racists.shtml

A few weeks ago, we wrote about a troubling SLAPP lawsuit in Charlottesville, Virginia against a local independent paper, C-Ville, and a UVA history professor. That post mostly focused on the lawsuit against the history professor, Jalane Schmidt, and the ACLU's decision to defend her in the lawsuit. We didn't have much information for how C-Ville itself is dealing with the SLAPP suit. However, given its response to another SLAPP threat, it appears that C-Ville is mostly caving.

Back in May, Molly Conger, an opinion columnist for C-Ville, who built up her reputation by reporting on local racists and what they're up to, wrote an opinion piece merely highlighting the fact that a Charlottesville police officer, Logan Woodzell, who had just been promoted, had also been seen in a photo passed around on social media "posing with James Napier of the neo-Confederate group the Hiwaymen and Tammy Lee of American Freedom Keepers (one of the militia groups sued by the city for its involvement in Unite the Right)."