Fans of Insane Clown Posse a.k.a Juggalos have been trying their hardest to be removed from the FBI's gang list for quite some time now. While the majority of them are simply down with face paint and Faygo soft drink, they've also been clumped together with some of the violent members of the community. The group's members, Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J, tried to fight against it in a lawsuit that said the FBI's classification of Juggalos goes against their First and Fifth Amendment rights. Today, the Juggalos have lost their fight to be removed from the FBI's gang list.
Insane Clown Posse lost their battle to be removed from the FBI's gang list, The Washington Post reports. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled classifying Juggalos as a gang couldn't be disputed due to the fact that it doesn't have any straight forward legal consequences. The report was described in the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment as a "loosely-organized hybrid gang."
Juggalos are saying that being classified as a gang is not only inaccurate but has created issues of discrimination and harassment from legal authorities. While the court accepted that it may have caused issues for individuals, they stand by the fact that the FBI holds no weight in how municipal governments view the report.
"The various reputational and personal harms suffered by Appellants in the present case may be the practical consequences of the Juggalo gang designation," the court said, "but they are not a direct or appreciable legal consequence of the Juggalo gang designation." They continued further by saying government officials aren't required to "consider or abide by the gang designation."
At this point, unless ICP decide to appeal the court's ruling and bring it to the Supreme Court, they'll be continue to be considered a national gang by the FBI.
