Music

Insane Clown Posse get ACLU support in lawsuit against FBI

by Tyler Munro

You didn’t think ICP would hold a press conference without their makeup on, did you? Image via Twitter

The Insane Clown Posse’s fight against the FBI has been an ongoing process, and the group announced as far back as August 2012 that they were suing the agency. But today that fight got a little stronger when Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J—both clad in their trademark makeup—announced at a press conference that their cause is now backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the most powerful civil rights organization in America.

Confused? Fair. It all dates back to 2011, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation classified Juggalos as a “loosely-organised hybrid gang,” writing that crimes committed by the clown-crews are “sporadic, disorganized, individualistic, and often involve simple assault, personal drug use and possession, petty theft, and vandalism.”

They’re not wrong to suggest that many Juggalos engage in petty, sometimes violent crimes, a fact highlighted by any of the annual Gathering of the Juggalos arrest reports, but classifying them as a gang victimizes the hundreds of thousands of kids that identify with the group to feel like part of something bigger crosses the line.

That’s what the Insane Clown Posse had a problem with.

Also joining their cause alongside the ACLU is the apparently influential Michigan law firm Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, who the Posse say are volunteering their legal expertise to “represent Juggalos who have been given the bone by law enforcement officials.”

On their website, the group says that the harassment and discrimination Juggalos have faced the last few years is “flat out WRONG and un-American,” adding that this new unified front represents a “MAJOR victory for all Juggalos.”

“I guaran-fucking-tee you that if anyone was laughing at the Juggalos VS. FBI case before, no one is laughing now,” reads a post on the duo’s official website. “THAT’S how much influence the ACLU has and we are SO PROUD and honored to have them standing up for the Juggalo family.”