'Tell the truth!': Watch an irate Charlotte protester knock down CNN reporter, apologize

Things were tense on the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday night, and say what you will about CNN, reporters Boris Sanchez and Ed Lavandera were in the thick of it. Sanchez was on the street when police fired gas to disperse the crowd, some of which had become unruly and violent (one person was shot and is on life support). CNN gives you a taste in the video below — including the moment when a protester ran up and knocked Lavandera to the ground, after someone yelled "Tell the truth!"

Lavandera later told Don Lemon that after he recovered from being blindsided, the guy returned to say sorry. "Oddly enough — I'm trying to find the guy — there was a guy that just came up to me a few moments ago and told me that he was the one that knocked me out," Lavandera said, "and he came up to me and actually hugged me and apologized for what he had done." Now, it's obviously wrong to rough up a reporter who is just doing his or her job, but it's also true that anger at the media is not exclusive to Charlotte protesters. In the newest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, a solid 59 percent of voters view the news media negatively:

So, a tip for reporters out there: Maybe pin a Canadian flag on your jacket when you're on the streets, at least until after the election.

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