THE security chief for the pro-independence Hope Over Fear has committed multiple criminal offences, the Sunday Herald can reveal.

John Marshall, accused of showing aggression towards journalists at a HOF event earlier this month, pled guilty as recently as July to threatening behaviour.

HOF, which describes itself as a grassroots movement, attracted around 1500 people to a rally in George Square on September 19th.

However, senior SNP and Yes figures believe HOF is a front group for the political rehabilitation of Tommy Sheridan, who was jailed in 2011 for perjury.

The former MSP is trying to mount a comeback and will stand as a Solidarity candidate in Glasgow next year.

The spotlight has now fallen on the individuals who are performing essential back-stage roles for what one pro-independence activist said was the HOF “juggernaut”.

Marshall, whose Facebook profile states that he “works” at HOF, was name-checked by the organisation on social media ahead of the latest rally:

“Many thanks to Head of Security John Marshall and his team (a few who are also HOF committee members) who will once again ensure that the day runs smoothly.”

He was also credited after a separate HOF rally in April: “Thanks to John Marshall and the Storm Holytown for stage security and their support throughout.”

Marshall has appeared in a video alongside Sheridan to promote events and contributes to the Yes Holytown web-page.

However, he has also a chequered past.

In July, he was fined £400 at Hamilton Sheriff Court after admitting to shouting, swearing and uttering a threat last year to No campaigners,

According to the Court, he pled guilty to the charge of breaching a section of the the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.

Jimmy Coyle, a Labour councillor in North Lanarkshire, said at the time that the fine was issued.

“This man [Marshall] went over the top with threatening behaviour towards people simply because they had a different view from him. That’s not democracy in any form.”

In court, Sheriff Douglas Brown also heard that Marshall has three previous convictions for breach of the peace.

At the September 19th rally, HOF was criticised after stopping the media from entering a barricaded enclosure set up by organisers around the stage.

One photographer told this newspaper that Marshall was “aggressive” and “looking for a fight”.

Marshall was also the security steward who got embroiled in a row with another photographer during the rally after telling him to get off a public statue.

The source said: “The guy said ‘you are disrespecting the statue, get the fuck off it’.”

Marshall was a member of the SNP at the time of his fine and the party said it had launched an investigation after the court case.

The complaint has not been heard, but is scheduled.

At a lunch last week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon slapped down Sheridan:

“Tommy is not somebody I would choose to campaign side-by-side with. He believes in independence, he’s entitled to do that, and he’s entitled to campaign, but I won’t choose to be on platforms with him.”

Asked why she would not share a platform with him, she said: “I think there are a number of people, women in particular, that find it very hard to forget what Tommy - to some extent allegedly - did and in other cases what he was found to have done, and I respect those views.”

A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: "It's clear that this latest vanity project from Tommy Sheridan features some unsavoury characters, so it beggars belief that some SNP MPs would associate with him."

Marshall could not be reached.