#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #UK #BRISTOL #ANARCHISM #News #Journal #Update - (en) Derry Anarchists: Quick Roundup - Bristol Cases

 This week has seen a number of cases from the rebellious city come before the

dock related to both clashes with police and the 2020 toppling of Edward
Colston's statue. The Colston Four have been getting a particularly well
publicised court showing, while a trickle of other verdicts are coming in related
to the riot in March. ---- Ryan Roberts ---- The most punitive case of the week
was that of a 25-year-old person of no fixed abode accused of burning a cop car
and shouting abuse at officers, who was given 14 years by Judge James Patrick for
their role in the March 21 protest against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and
Courts Bill. The rally, provoked by repeated attacks from armoured cops, turned
into serious clashes which provided the most angry expression of spring's wave of
protests.

A jury convicted Ryan of rioting, attempted arson with intent to endanger life,
attempted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, and two counts
of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. Their sentence is by
far the longest in a series of exemplary sentencing cases related to the rally,
with previous convictions having gotten between three and five years.

Solidarity protests took place in the aftermath of the verdict and Bristol ABC
has called for solidarity to support them in prison.

March 21: Scores on the doors
A GBC rep reports that In total there were originally 191 suspects in relation to
the March 21st riot, of whom 83 have been arrested and one youth questioned under
caution. Forty-four have been charged as of the time of writing, two cautioned
and 25 released with "no further action." Thirteen people are awaiting a charging
decision by the CPS.

Of those charged, 11 have pleaded guilty and one (Ryan) was found guilty at
trial. Another 32 people are still awaiting trial (including one on remand, one
is on the run). Of those awaiting trial 30 are for riot.

Bristol ABC is being active in supporting the people sent down so far who have
requested it, raising a fund of more than £25,000 and keeping a list of contacts
for anyone who wants to send support and correspondence.

The Colston Four
The four people charged with criminal damage of the Colston Statue have been in
court all this week, resuming on Monday. Over the course of the trial so far
defendants Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, Jake Skuse and Sage Willoughby have been
accused variously of pulling the statue down and rolling it to the harbour.

Milo Ponsford, speaking in court on Wednesay, said of the tribute to Bristol's
most famous slaver: "I thought it was necessary for Bristol, and the people of
Bristol, for the statue to go" and argued that it was a disgrace the monument had
been allowed to stand for so long. He argued that ""I believe I had a lawful
excuse to damage that statue, preventing further harm to the people of Bristol."

And of the moment that it fell, he said: "I ran over to where the statue had
fallen and jumped up and down around it for a few moments. I couldn't believe it
had happened. It felt like a successful victory to have this statue finally toppled."

Information from the prosecution case mentioned text messages that were exchanged
between Milo and Sage about the statue prior to its being brought down, which
were subsequently accessed by police when they seized Milo's phone. As the
Bristolian, which has been following the case closely, notes, this part of the
case acts ...

"... as a useful reminder to activists to NEVER arrange or discuss any action by
text message. If Milo and Sage had done the old-fashioned thing and phoned each
other, the only evidence Cron would have is the location of the two phones and
the fact calls had been exchanged between the two. All just circumstantial
evidence. The content of their conversation would never have been known as
intercepting telecommunications requires a warrant. Accessing text messages does
not."

Fellow defendant Rhian also admitted to being at the protest at interview,
according to evidence given by Detective Constable Matthew Cron of Bristol CID.

Day four of the trial, which took place on Friday, was opened with a blistering
statement from Sage Willoughby, who said: "I have been signing petitions since I
was 11 years old to have that statue removed, I spoke to my elders about it, I
was quite frankly laughed at - they said they had given up signing petitions
because nothing was ever going to happen ...

"Colston was a racist and a slave trader who murdered thousands and enslaved even
more. Imagine having a Hitler statue in front of a holocaust survivor, it feels
similar if not worse ... I think it was a hate crime having that statue left up
there so I felt legitimate in what I was doing."

This was followed by an authoritative turn by historian David Olosuga, who
outlined some of the horrors done in the name of the Royal African Company, a
firm in which Colston both invested heavily and where he had a role as an
executive: "They would brand Africans who they had purchased; they would brand
them with the initials RAC. ... a piece of hot metal in the shape of those
initials was burned into their chests," he said, adding that this would be done
to children as young as nine years old."

For more on Colston's past check out Bristol Radical History's essay here. The
trial continues Monday morning and is being reported on daily by Alternative
Bristol as well as the Bristol Post.

https://freedomnews.org.uk/2021/12/18/quick-roundup-bristol-cases/
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