Rap group Insane Clown Posse sues feds over claim that fans are gang members
Insane Clown Posse. Featureflash
Shutterstock.com
With the help of a civil rights organization, a Michigan-based rap group has sued the feds over a government claim that its fans are gang members.
The Insane Clown Posse filed suit Wednesday in federal court in Detroit, citing an “unwarranted and unlawful decision” by the FBI to describe the rap group’s fans, known as Juggalos, as hybrid gang members in a 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment report, according to the Detroit Free Press and the New York Times (reg. req.).
Four fans also are listed as plaintiffs in the case and claim they have been harassed by authorities. The Department of Justice and FBI are named as defendants.
The suit, filed by the band’s lawyers and attorneys for the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, seeks a court order reversing the FBI determination in the 2011 report that Juggalos are a gang and requiring the FBI to purge its files and call a halt to its alleged investigations of fans.
Government agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the newspaper says.
The Insane Clown Posse also sued the FBI in 2012 seeking documents that the bureau had used to reach the conclusion that Juggalos are “a loosely organized hybrid gang.” Federal authorities filed a motion in August to dismiss the lawsuit, the New York Times reported.
See also:
ABA Journal: “Hells Angels, Juggalos claim they are being unfairly singled out by law enforcement”
ABAJournal.com: “Insane Clown Posse hires counsel to review FBI classification of fans as gang members”
