The Insane Clown Posse (ICP), a Detroit rap duo which enjoys a large and obsessive fan base, has launched a federal lawsuit against the US Justice Department and the FBI in retaliation for classifying their fans as members of a criminal gang.
Four fans of the band, which is famous for their flamboyant clown makeup emulated by their followers, known as “Juggalos,” from the states of Nevada, California, Iowa and North Carolina joined forces with its two founders, Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, to fight the criminal designation. The Michigan branch of the American Civil Liberties Union is also taking part in the suit on behalf of ICP.
The band is known for holding raucous music festivals, though according to the new suit filed on Wednesday authorities have crossed the line and infringed on their constitutionally protected freedom of speech and expression by treating fans of the group as a criminal element.
“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,” says the ACLU.
According to Mark Parsons of Nevada, who is taking part in the suit filed on Wednesday, Tennessee state troopers detained him for displaying the ICP logo on his truck.
“Parsons considers himself one of the original fans of ICP, having attended shows and supported the band for years. In honor of the band, Mark named his own trucking company Juggalo Express, LLC and decorated his big rig with the image of a Hatchetman,” said a statement by the Michigan ACLU.
“While Mark was hauling cargo in a tractor-trailer emblazoned with an ICP logo, he was detained for a safety inspection by a Tennessee State Trooper. When Mark asked why he was stopped, the Trooper replied it was because the logo was associated with a gang ‘according to the FBI.’”