ACLU, Insane Clown Posse sue over gang labeling * Updated with more Video*

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ACLU, Insane Clown Posse sue over gang labeling * Updated with more Video*

Wednesday 8th January, 2014 by PunkRockJuggalo | 8 Comments

The ACLU and Insane Clown Posse have filed suit against the Justice Department on Wednesday, January 8th, alleging it was unlawful for the government to classify the group’s fans as a gang. The lawsuit was filed on the behalf of four Juggalos, and the Insane Clown Posse. You can read the recap of the press conference via ICP below. Also the ACLU have released a statement and set up a website about this lawsuit, which can be found at www.aclumich.org/Juggalos

From Insaneclownposse.com:

You’ll probably see the news headlines popping up all over the Internet in just a few hours but here’s the info direct from Psychopathic. This morning, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope appeared at a press conference at the headquarters of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan in Downtown Detroit. The ACLU is THE most powerful civil rights organization in America and their sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights and Constitution and to stick up and fight for all citizens who are having their rights violated. Get this—THE ACLU HAS JOINED ICP IN THEIR FIGHT TO CLEAR THE JUGGALO FAMILY NAME! Not only is the ACLU joining the fray, but one of the biggest and most influential law firms in Michigan—Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone—are also volunteering their legal expertise to represent Juggalos who have been given the bone by law enforcement officials or experienced discrimination as a result of Juggalos being on the FBI’s list of gangs.

So what does this mean? With the ACLU and Miller Canfield standing with the Juggalos against the FBI, we have some VERY powerful friends on our side! The ACLU and Miller Canfield both think that the discrimination, profiling and harassment that Juggalos have been facing over the last few years in flat out WRONG and un-American so now they will be helping us fight our case in court. This represents a MAJOR victory for all Juggalos and I guaran-fucking-tee you that if anyone was laughing at the Juggalos VS. FBI case before, no one is laughing now. THAT’S how much influence the ACLU has and we are SO PROUD and honored to have them standing up for the Juggalo family.

We’ll keep you updated in the coming weeks and months as the court case unfolds. The fight to clear our Juggalo family name is STRONGER THAN EVER, ninjas. And shit just got real. Very real. STAY STRONG!

ACLU, Insane Clown Posse File Lawsuit Challenging FBI Gang Designation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, along with the Detroit music duo Insane Clown Posse (ICP), filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of Juggalos, or fans of ICP, claiming that their constitutional rights to expression and association were violated when the U.S. government wrongly and arbitrarily classified the entire fan base as a “hybrid” criminal gang. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of four Juggalos and the two members of ICP.

“The Juggalos are fighting for the basic American right to freely express who they are, to gather and share their appreciation of music, and to discuss issues that are important to them without fear of being unfairly targeted and harassed by police,” said Michael J. Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan legal director. “Branding hundreds of thousands of music fans as gang members based on the acts of a few individuals defies logic and violates our most cherished of constitutional rights.”

Juggalos are the self-identified fans of ICP. They often express their affinity for ICP by painting their faces to look like clowns, and displaying the “hatchetman” logo and other ICP insignia on their clothing, jewelry, body art and bumper stickers. Juggalos often come together at concerts or their annual week-long summer gathering. They consider themselves a “family” of people who love and help one another and enjoy one another’s company. Juggalos are not an organized fan club, but a group of people who bond over the music and a philosophy of life, much like “Deadheads” bonded around the Grateful Dead. The federal government estimates that there are more than a million Juggalos in the United States.

In 2011, Juggalos were officially identified as a “hybrid gang” by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), when the fan group was included in the DOJ’s third National Gang Threat Assessment. As a result of this unjust designation, “individual Juggalos are suffering improper investigations, detentions and other denials of their personal rights at the hands of government officials” or denied employment according to the lawsuit filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

For instance, Brandon Bradley, 20, a self-identified Juggalo, has on numerous occasions been stopped and detained by law enforcement officers in California. Each time, the officer has wrongly accused Brandon of being in a gang and has interrogated him about being a Juggalo and his affiliated tattoos and clothing. Another client, Scott Gandy, was told he would not be accepted in the Army because his ICP tattoo was a gang symbol.

“It’s unfair that police are treating fans of ICP like criminals just because of the music we like,” said Brandon. “Even though the Juggalo community has had a positive effect on my life, now I feel I have to cover my tattoos in certain areas or risk being harassed by police. It’s wrong to make me hide who I am.”

The lawsuit asks a judge to order the DOJ to remove the Juggalos from the government’s list of gangs so that the fans of ICP will no longer be unconstitutionally and unjustifiably singled out as targets for scrutiny and harassment by law enforcement authorities throughout the country. The lawsuit goes on to assert that the DOJ’s classification of the Juggalos as a gang is unconstitutionally vague and violates the Juggalos’ constitutional rights to association and speech.

“It’s time for the FBI to come to its senses and recognize that Juggalos are not a gang but a worldwide family united by the love of music,” said Joseph Bruce (aka Violent J), a member of ICP. “There has never been—and will never be—a music fan base quite like Juggalos, and while it is easy to fear what one does not understand, discrimination and bigotry against any group of people is just plain wrong and un-American.”

In 2012, attorneys representing ICP and their record label, Psychopathic Records, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the FBI to obtain records the federal government used to justify officially designating Juggalos as a criminal gang. When those documents were finally released, they contained nothing that would warrant labeling all Juggalos as a criminal gang.

In addition to Steinberg, the Juggalos are represented by ACLU cooperating attorney Saura J. Sahu of the law firm Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, and Daniel Korobkin and Kary Moss of the ACLU of Michigan. The members of the Insane Clown Posse are represented by Howard Hertz and Elizabeth Thomson of the firm Hertz Schram and Farris F. Haddad of Farris F. Haddad & Associates, P.C.

Read the complaint

Read more about the clients

Violent J speaks at ACLU of Michigan Press Conference

[youtube width=”560″ height=”344″]http://youtu.be/d9LRWMDumvs[/youtube]

Shaggy 2 Dope speaks at ACLU of Michigan Press Conference

[youtube width=”560″ height=”344″]http://youtu.be/MkF5VhJ0Mq4[/youtube]

Violent J Sums It Up

[youtube width=”560″ height=”344″]http://youtu.be/rLZ9XFcnlwo[/youtube]

Brandon Bradley speaks at ACLU of Michigan Press Conference

[youtube width=”560″ height=”344″]http://youtu.be/nU4imTeQHsM[/youtube]

ACLU of Michigan legal director talks about the case

[youtube width=”560″ height=”344″]http://youtu.be/G3q5JgE5iU8[/youtube]

ICP speaks out about being called a “gang”

[youtube width=”560″ height=”344″]http://youtu.be/YY0f1L3oEi4[/youtube]

More Video of ICP at the Press Conference

[youtube width=”560″ height=”344″]http://youtu.be/V6mV2OGrAfU[/youtube]

Websites:

Faygoluvers Comments

Guest

Comment posted on Wednesday, January 8th, 2014 12:09 pm GMT -5 at 12:09 pm

They have a real shot at winning this. The current political climate can not hurt this case. Federal overreach is palatable.
sflm

Comment posted on Wednesday, January 8th, 2014 01:35 pm GMT -5 at 1:35 pm

Be ready, in case this lawsuit starts going places and reaches mainstream nationwide news, for people and politicians to come out and say this lawsuit is anti-Obama because his DOJ pushed this gang classification through. Because, usually, every time there is a challenge against this administration their goons in the media bring out the ‘racist’ label. It wouldn’t surprise me if they begin calling Juggalos and all of Psychopathic racist like they’ve done to other groups who’ve taken issue with this administration’s policies.
chops

Comment posted on Wednesday, January 8th, 2014 05:31 pm GMT -5 at 5:31 pm

they will win with aclu onboard. huge impact on the whole case now that them and the other firm are backing it.in the beginning i thought it was a mistake and a definite loss for icp but, it has all changed now.
Violentdope

Comment posted on Wednesday, January 8th, 2014 07:14 pm GMT -5 at 7:14 pm

shaggy didnt say “you know what im sayin”..lol shaggy is the shit..
Joeberg

Comment posted on Wednesday, January 8th, 2014 10:18 pm GMT -5 at 10:18 pm

Those lawyers or whoever they were seem greasy as fuck. In the first video, dude’s all leanin back in his chair like “yep…these assholes bout to make me rich”. Then the last one, the fuckin dude is texting during the thing. Cmon man! And why was the black guy from My Name is Earl there? What’s his connection?
purplekushy

Comment posted on Thursday, January 9th, 2014 12:11 am GMT -5 at 12:11 am

kinda hypocritical on ICP’s part. They been portraying “rednecks” and country folk as incest pedophiles ever since carnival of carnage. Could it perhaps be true in some rare cases? Sure. Just as there is certain possibility that a small number of the “juggalo’ family does participate in gang activity. Its way too easy to paint everyone with the same brush, its not fair, it shows immense ignorance, and low intelligence. ICP and FBI are both guilty of doing the same thing here. Almost feels like ICP feels their fan base slipping away towards other more talented acts and competition is stiff, so in an attempt to regain control they are using the FBI gang labelling as a common enemy to gain much needed support.
JuggaloShorty

Comment posted on Thursday, January 9th, 2014 02:57 am GMT -5 at 2:57 am

Joeberg, the black guy from My Name is Earl is Doe Dubla (Big Hoodoo).
Carnivalkilla44

Comment posted on Thursday, January 9th, 2014 09:24 am GMT -5 at 9:24 am

IMO they should definitely think about doing these interviews minus the clown paint. Don’t get me wrong, ICP has a very strong case, but for everyone to take them seriously (because this is a serious matter) it should be suits and ties man.