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FOUR protesters have denied causing criminal damage to the statue of slave owner Edward Colston and will face trial in December.
The court case will take place 18 months after the bronze figure of the slave merchant was toppled during a Black Lives Matter protest in June 2020.
Jake Skuse, 36, Rhian Graham, 29, Milo Ponsford, 25, and Sage Willoughby, 21, dubbed the Colston Four, appeared at Bristol Crown Court this morning.
The four pleaded not guilty to causing criminal damage. All were bailed and face a full trial on December 13. A pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for early November.
After pulling down the statue on June 7, BLM protesters rolled the figure into Bristol Harbour, whence it was retrieved by Bristol City Council four days later.
Edward Colston, born in Bristol in 1636, is believed to have sold about 100,000 people from West Africa into slavery through the Royal African Company, which branded the slaves with the initials RAC on their chests.
Local groups had campaigned for decades to have the statue removed and Colston’s name replaced on a number of public buildings in the city.
Hodge Jones & Allen, the law firm representing three of the defendants, said ahead of the hearing that it would fight the charges vigorously.
“We are committed to defending them and their right to a fair trial in this important case. We ask that their privacy is respected,” the firm said in a statement.
