Since 2011, the Insane Clown Posse has apparently been considered a gang by the U.S. government, and according to Billboard, they're not going to take it anymore. The duo, in addition to several JUggalos, have file a lawsuit claiming that their rights have been violated by the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI. Here's the word from Billboard:
A lawsuit was filed Wednesday in the U.S. Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on behalf of ICP members Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (Joey Utsler) and four Juggalos claiming that their constitutional rights of free expression and association and due process have been violated due to the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigations issued the gang designation in the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment. The lawsuit charges that the designation is wrong and without merit and should be removed.
"When the (gang) label first come out, I laughed at it. I had no idea how much it would effect us," Violent J says. "Now it's like a growing disease. It's affecting everything ICP does. We're going to fight this to the death, 'cause it's not true. It's stupid. It's ridiculous."
ICP is apparently blaming their growing financial woes -- for starters, the group's annual Gathering of the Juggalos summer festival lost more than $700,000 last year -- on the designation.
The ACLU of Michigan is representing the Juggalos while the law firm Hertz Schram P.C. is representing Insane Clown Posse in the case.
You can read Billboard's full report
here.
