The Insane Clown Posse along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan have filed an appealed of a federal judge’s order dismissing the Juggalos’ case against the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The original lawsuit was filed in January on behalf of Juggalos, claiming that their constitutional rights were violated when the U.S. government wrongly classified the entire fan base as a “hybrid” criminal gang.

You can view what J-Webb had to say on ICP’s website, read the press release from the ACLU, and hear a statement via YouTube video from Mike Steinberg of the ACLU.

From InsaneClownPosse.com:

Juggalos! J-Webb here. I just got the following email from our friends at the ACLU of Michigan, who are working with us in our lawsuit against the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice to get Juggalos removed from the FBI’s gang list. Several months ago, a judge dismissed our lawsuit, claiming that the FBI was not responsible for the harrassment and discrimination that Juggalos across the nation have been subjected to by law enforcement agencies and other legal entities. Well…IT AIN’T OVER!!!! Not by a fucking long shot! Our legal team and friends at the ACLU of Michigan are heading back to court in the near future to present our appeal and reignite our case against the FBI. Here’s the ACLU’s press release in full. Check out our ninja Mike Steinberg of the ACLU in the YouTube video.

ACLU PRESS RELEASE:

DETROIT — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan today urged a federal appeals court to reinstate its lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI on behalf of rap duo Insane Clown Posse and the group’s fans, also known as Juggalos.

Arguing that the suit was wrongly dismissed, the ACLU filed a brief with the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals charging that that the federal agencies branded the Juggalos “a loosely affiliated hybrid gang” in violation of the fans’ First Amendment rights and that the designation has led to unjust investigations, unfair detentions and other infringements on fans’ personal rights by government officials.

Even though local police officers say they rely on the FBI gang designation when they detain Juggalos, a federal district judge dismissed the case because the FBI never directed local law enforcement to violate the rights of Juggalos.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/_5Y58sE5tC0[/youtube]

“It should surprise no one that when the FBI tells local police officers that certain music fans are members of a criminal gang, the police are going to target individuals who express passion for the music. The FBI started this problem and it must end it by retracting a false and unconstitutional gang label that is causing serious harm to thousands of law abiding Americans.” — Michael J. Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan legal director

Websites:

• insaneclownposse.com
• aclumich.org/Juggalos
• Read the ACLU/ICP notice of appeal