Four people accused of causing criminal damage to a statue of 17th-century British merchant Edward Colston went on trial on Monday. The bronze statue of Colston—an English merchant, philanthropist, and member of Parliament who was involved in the Atlantic slave trade—was toppled during a Black Lives Matter protest on June 7, 2020, before being dumped in Bristol Harbour and later recovered by Bristol City Council. Three men—Milo Ponsford, 25, Jake Skuse, 36, and Sage Willoughby, 21—and 29-year-old woman Rhian Graham, were charged with damaging the Colston statue and its plinth together with “others unknown.” The defendants denied the charge on March 2 and were on unconditional bail. Setting the trial date in March, Judge Peter Blair, who will also preside over the trial, suggested the defendants set aside “seven to eight days,” saying the court estimated the trial may take more than a week. Legal representatives of three of the defendants said they would fight …