Protest Organiser Denies Fundraising Fraud Related to Bristol Statue Toppling

Xahra Saleem leaves Bristol Magistrates' Court on Jan. 3, 2023. PA

A woman alleged to have organised a protest that led to a statue being toppled into Bristol Harbour has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges relating to fundraising pages she allegedly set up in June 2020.

Xahra Saleem, 22, of Romford, east London, appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday accused of two counts of fraud by abuse of position.

A statue of Edward Colston was pushed into Bristol Harbour on June 7, 2020 during protests related to the global Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

Saleem is said to have been one of the organisers of the protest and had set up a crowdfunding page to raise money for masks and other equipment.

Crowdfunding

An agreement is said to have been made that any excess funds would go to Bristol-based charity Changing Your Mindset Ltd.

Following the protest, which gained worldwide attention, the page raised tens of thousands of pounds, however it is alleged that none of the money was given to the charity.

The defendant is also said to have set up a fundraising page following the protest to raise money for the legal costs of those facing charges.

Those funds are also alleged to have not been handed over.

Bristol Crown Court

In court, Saleem spoke only to confirm her name, address, and date of birth, and stated her not guilty pleas. She was taken into court wearing a black niqab and long navy blue trench coat.

District Judge Lynne Matthews told the defendant that owing to the seriousness of the case, it would have to be dealt with at the crown court.

Saleem will next appear at Bristol Crown Court on Jan. 30. She was granted unconditional bail.

The statue of 17th century merchant, Edward Colston, falls into the water after protesters pulled it down during a protest following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Bristol, England, on June 7, 2020. Keir Gravil via Reuters

BLM

The Bristol BLM protest was one of hundreds that took place across a weekend of intense protests in the UK and the United States.

According to the Bristol local authority museum’s website, Colston, a 17th-century British merchant and philanthropist, profited from his shares in the Royal African Company, whose members traded gold, ivory, and enslaved Africans. He had also been an active member of the company’s governing body for 11 years.

Colston’s statue was toppled, before being dumped in Bristol Harbour and later recovered by Bristol City Council. A January 2022 jury trial acquitted four BLM protesters of causing criminal damage.

The acquittal was referred to the Court of Appeal after then-Attorney General Suella Braverman referred the case for legal clarification.

The judges ruled that the toppling of the Colston statue was a “violent” act, though the ruling does not imply the four were guilty of criminal damage, the BBC reported.

The BLM protests followed the killing of a black man, George Floyd, while being arrested by police in the United States on May 25, 2020.

First emerging in the United States during President Barack Obama’s second term, the BLM movement initially appeared in response to excessive use of deadly force in law enforcement actions, which many argue disproportionately affects the black community.

The non-profit organization that bears the same name, however, goes much further to advocate for a number of Marxist causes, including the dissolution of nuclear family.

“We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable,” the organization’s website used to read.

PA Media and Lily Zhou contributed to this report.