On 7 June 2020, Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol, UK, pulled down a statue of enslaver Edward Colston and threw it into Bristol Harbour.
Colston was a wealthy trader of enslaved people, whose company transported more than 100,000 people who were abducted from West Africa and enslaved in the 17th century. Those kidnapped were branded with the initials of Colston's company, RAC.
Four people, Sage Willoughby, Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford and Jake Skuse, were subsequently arrested and charged with criminal damage for their role in the removal of the statue. In the dock, Willoughby argued that having a statue honouring Colston would be like "having a Hitler statue in front of a Holocaust survivor".
All four defendants were acquitted by the jury. Willoughby subsequently responded to those who argue that removing statues is trying to change history, stating: "We didn't change history, we rectified it".
Colston statue toppled - WCH | Stories
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