Protest groups claiming to protect women and children from immigrants have been shaken by repeated revelations of violent misogynists operating in their ranks. The imminent staging of the Pink Ladies Glasgow event at Glasgow Green on Saturday has raised fears that more violence will rock the city after several flare-ups over immigration in recent months.
Anti-racist groups have claimed that far-right demonstrations have been a beacon for bullies, as they are drawn to the potential for violence and chaos. Women's organisations claim that the vast majority of violent and sexual crime in Scotland is carried out by Scots-born men.
Bullies and stalkers identified by victims
Some bullies, stalkers and abusers have been identified and called out by their own victims after appearing at the heart of angry mobs to shout “get them out.” In the last two years, the media has documented men whose pro-women stance caused outrage when matched against their criminal records for the abuse of partners.
In July this year, Ryan Marshall stood proudly in Glasgow Green and made forceful Nazi salutes at the “protect women and children protest” that ended in chaos. He was prominent among other supporters of the Unite the Clans cause in Glasgow, many of whom wore masks.
After his photo appeared in the media, previous victims of Marshall came forward to denounce him for violence he inflicted on them. The Record revealed that Marshall, 37, attacked partners over months, then ruthlessly stalked them after they found the courage to dump him. He spent several periods in jail but emerged to give sob stories that would patch up relationships, only for more carnage to erupt.
Convictions for stalking and assault
Marshall collected a series of convictions, including several for assault and others for stalking various women. In 2018, he was hauled into court in separate cases for stalking campaigns against two women. One ex-partner, a police officer, was barraged with threatening messages after they split. The 28-year-old woman claimed Marshall sent hundreds of texts and recordings a day and made hoax 999 calls to send police and ambulance crews to her home. Marshall admitted the stalking charge and was sentenced to nine months imprisonment. He was jailed for 30 months for a campaign of terror against another partner.
Revelations about Marshall followed stories in the Record about Alan Miller, 26, another compulsive bully. Miller was caught on video trying to intimidate passers-by at the far-right protests on Glasgow Green. The bully-boy tactics had been honed on his previous partners.
Material posted online by Caitlyn Scullion, 26, branded Miller a violent brute who terrorised her as they brought up a child together. Photos posted by Caitlyn after she became aware of his presence at the Unite the Clans demo showed bleeding and bruising to her face and body. Sharing a clip of Miller at the demo, Caitlyn said: “He’s protesting about getting ‘immigrants out’ to protect women and children, when this is what he did to me.” Caitlyn also told followers she considered taking her life during the abuse and added: “I’m not the only one he subjected to this.”
More abusers exposed
A separate social media post by Kerry Sweeney, a previous partner of Miller, branded him a hypocrite and the kind of “monster” that women need to be protected from. Kerry Sweeney posted online a scathing account of life with Miller. She said: “This is who we need to protect our women and children from. Treat him like the monster he is. He enjoys hitting women, even whilst pregnant and has absolutely no care or remorse.”
Miller pled guilty to a charge of domestic abuse at Glasgow Sheriff Court in October 2017. He was given 40 hours of community payback. Pleas of not guilty to two separate assault charges were accepted. Alan Miller did not respond to the claims made against him.
John Watt was a main organiser of the anti-immigration action until he was exposed for his own conviction for violence against ex-partners. In September last year, the Daily Record told how Watt asked an elderly woman at a rally in Falkirk: “Are you scared in your local town?”
Watt posted a video of a protest held outside Falkirk MP Euan Stainbank’s office on August 30, where he spoke to members of the Pink Ladies Group, who were out in force to talk about women’s fears in the town. Watt listens as concerned mums tell how they aren’t allowing their teenage daughters to go near the area’s Callander Park.
The Daily Record was then notified that Watt was previously found guilty, in 2018, of a campaign of violence against two women he had relationships with. A jury found former “Butler in the Buff” Watt guilty of assaulting one ex-partner on various occasions between September 2010 and February 2015 during their decade-long relationship. He was also convicted of abusing a second partner on various occasions between August 2015 and January 2016.
