All is not well in Juggalo Land, that magical Gathering where “WHOOP WHOOP” has replaced “hi,” “bye,” and “where’s the toilet,” rivers run red with Faygo, and you can’t walk five paces without seeing at least one exposed boob and/or penis. On August 7th, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope tweeted, “We got a huge announcment to make at 3PM Friday from the ICP seminar. Its probably the biggest announcment of our career. Yes we’re nervious.” That announcement: we’re suing the FBI. *Record scratch* *Lyrics about carnivals*
According to Village Voice reporter Camille Dodero, who’s to Juggalo reporting as Aaron Sorkin is to sanctimonious monologues:
Last fall, the FBI officially named Juggalos “a loosely-organized hybrid gang.” This afternoon, Insane Clown Posse announced at the annual Gathering of the Juggalos “seminar,” a veritable State of the Juggalo Union address given to “the heartbeat of the entire Juggalo world,” that they were planning to sue the FBI in response.
In the agency’s “2011 National Gang Threat Assessment” report, the FBI identified Juggalos (“traditionally fans of the musical group the Insane Clown Posse”) as a “hybrid gang,” specifically “a criminal organization formed on the street” on par the Crips, Bloods, and MS-13. Prior to that, four states individually recognized Juggalos as a gang: California, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Arizona. (Via)
The Juggalo gang designation means that ICP merchandise can’t be sold in stores like Hot Topic, and if a fan does wear their apparel to a parole meeting in the four states listed above, that’s a violation of probation. In retaliation, Misters J and Dope have launched Juggalos Fight Back, “a place for ‘los and ‘lettes to be heard.”
If you or someone you know have suffered any negative consequence with a governmental representative, including law enforcement, border patrol, airline security, or other local, state or federal governmental agency or employee as a result of your status as a Juggalo, we want to know about it.
If you would like to share your experience and to have your situation reviewed by our legal team – at no charge to you – please fill out our short questionnaire. (Via)
Juggalo lawyer sounds like the world’s greatest profession. Anyway, no matter what you think of Insane Clown Posse’s music, it’s pretty f*cked what’s happening to their fans, who I’ve found to be an oddly endearing group of people. Besides, can’t we send every 16-year-old who wears a “Pink Floyd Tour ’72” t-shirt to prison, instead?
