Xahra Saleem, a BLM leader in Bristol, England, has been charged with two counts of fraud and one count of abuse of position. Her first court appearance is scheduled for January third.
The charges stem from two GoFundMe projects. One was called BristBLM for Changing your Mindset, and the other was called Bristol Protestors Legal Fees. She describes herself as “co-founder of All Black Lives Bristol.”
Saleem is tied to a violet BLM riot in which a bronze statue of Edward Colston was toppled. Four people were charged with crimes. Earlier this year, a jury acquitted them in a process known as jury nullification. The four suspects did not dispute their role but argued they were justified in destroying the statue. The verdict prompted outrage across England.
Saleem is still fairing much better than London-based BLM leader Sasha Johnson. On May 23rd, 2021, she was shot at a party in a Black neighborhood and permanently debilitated. Part of her skull and brain had to be removed. She now lives in a medical facility.
Four Black males were charged with conspiracy to commit murder and other crimes. Their trial was supposed to start last March. The trial was canceled because witnesses refused to testify—part of the “no snitch culture” that protects criminals in London’s Black community. Charges against the four suspects were dropped.
Johnson was the leader of one of England’s two rival national BLM groups. She was also part of the US-based New Black Panther Party.
