Juggalos, ACLU Team Up Against the Feds

In the news
today:

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, along
with the Detroit music duo Insane Clown Posse (ICP), filed a
federal lawsuit today on behalf of Juggalos, or fans of ICP,
claiming that their constitutional rights to expression and
association were violated when the U.S. government wrongly and
arbitrarily classified the entire fan base as a “hybrid” criminal
gang.

It’s true: The feds have classified the Juggalos as a gang. The
designation was made in a 2011
FBI report, which included such immortal lines as “Juggalos are
traditionally fans of the musical group the Insane Clown Posse.”
(As I wrote
at the time, I’d love to learn more about those non-traditional
Juggalos who are not fans of Insane Clown Posse.) The
duo announced
last year that it planned to sue the agency, and now it’s
happening.

The band is joined in its suit by four individual Juggalos,
three of whom say cops have profiled them for their fan identity.
For example:

Mark Parsons considers himself one of the original fans
of ICP, having attended shows and supported the band for years. In
honor of the band, Mark named his own trucking company Juggalo
Express, LLC and decorated his big rig with the image of a
Hatchetman.

While Mark was hauling cargo in a tractor-trailer emblazoned with
an ICP logo, he was detained for a safety inspection by a Tennessee
State Trooper. When Mark asked why he was stopped, the Trooper
replied it was because the logo was associated with a gang
“according to the FBI.” This inspection delayed Mark’s cargo for
over an hour.

The plaintiffs want the government to remove ICP fans from the
gang list. You can read their complaint
here. For more on the long history of outsiders mistaking a
subculture for a conspiracy, go
here.

Bonus link: Another sort of Juggalo
justice.