More than 1,000 fans of the band Insane Clown Posse are rallying to protest the FBI‘s classification of them as a gang.
The band’s fans, known as Juggalos, have gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in a show of strength and unity. ICP is suing the Department of Justice to lift the FBI’s designation of Juggalos as a hybrid gang similar to the Crips.
The rap duo has developed an intensely devoted fan base over the course of a 25-year career, and some fans held signs that said, “Music is Not a Crime.”
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The protesters listened to a series of speakers and musicians amid clouds of marijuana smoke. They chanted “family” and an obscenity about the FBI.
A 2011 report by the Justice Department’s Gang Task Force placed the juggalos, who favour extensive tattoos and outlandish face paint, in the same classification as overtly violent gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips.
The rap group and its fans claim to be a nonviolent community subject to largely class-based discrimination by law enforcement. The band, along with the ACLU, sued the FBI in 2014 seeking to change the classification but with little success so far.
PHOTO GALLERY: Juggalos gather in Washington
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