Insane Clown Posse Sues Justice Dept.

A lawsuit was filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union on Insane Clown Posse’s behalf charging that a 2011 U.S. Justice Department report has hurt business and tarnished fans’ reputations.

Photo: Carlos Osorio/AP Photo

Addressing the media in Detroit, Mich.

The FBI report labeled the group’s fans, known as Juggalos, as being a “loosely organized hybrid gang” and claimed that some of them had committed assaults and vandalism. The report also asserted that a “small number” of Juggalos had committed more serious crimes.

Those descriptions didn’t sit very well with ICP. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the group’s Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (Joseph Utsler). The lawsuit alleges that labeling Juggalos with a gang designation violates fans’ free speech and due process rights.

ICP announced the lawsuit at a press conference in Detroit.

“I don’t think this has anything to do with hip hop,” Bruce said. “I think they just fear what they don’t understand.”

The lawsuit also listed four fans as plaintiffs. One of the fans is Scott Gandy of Concord, N.C., who claimed the Army wouldn’t let him enlist unless he had his Insane Clown Posse tattoos removed. According to Gandy, the Army claimed the tats were gang symbols.

Another plaintiff is Brandon Bradley of Sacramento, Calif., who said he’s been stopped and photographed by police because of his Juggalos tattoos, clothing and accessories, including a necklace that featured the ICP symbol of a man carrying a hatchet.