A judge has said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is not
at fault for the effects of classifying Juggalos, the fans of
Detroit horrorcore rap duo Insane Clown Posse (ICP), as a “hybrid
gang” in their 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment report.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Cleland dismissed a
lawsuit brought in January 2014 by the members of Insane Clown
Posse and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan that
alleged local police departments were using the FBI’s report to
profile, harass, and detain Juggalos based on the fact that they
associated themselves with the group. From the
Associated Press:
Cleland said the U.S. Justice Department is not responsible for
how authorities use a national report on gangs.The report “does not recommend any particular course of action
for local law enforcement to follow, and instead operates as a
descriptive, rather than prescriptive, assessment of nationwide
gang trends,” Cleland said in a 14-page opinion last week.
Lawyers from the ACLU beg to differ and
released a statement July 8 saying that the only way to remedy
the classification was to start at the root of the problem.
“There is no doubt that the FBI created this problem and the
solution begins there as well,” said Michael
J. Steinberg, ACLU of
Michigan legal director. ”Otherwise, we’ll be
playing whack-o-mole to stop local law enforcement agencies from
discriminating against our clients, when the agencies are just
following the FBI’s lead.”
The members of ICP, Joseph Utsler and Joseph Bruce, known as
Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J respectively, have vowed to keep
fighting against classification of their fans.
“There has never been—and will never be—a music fan base quite
like Juggalos, and while it is easy to fear what one does not
understand, discrimination and bigotry against any group of people
is just plain wrong and un-American,” said Bruce.
For more on the Juggalos watch
Juggalos vs. the FBI: Why Insane Clown Posse Fans are Not a
Gang:
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