Insane Clown Posse sues feds over gang label

1/8/2014

DETROIT — The Insane Clown Posse is suing the U.S. Justice Department over a 2011 FBI report that depicts the rap-metal duo’s devoted fans, the Juggalos, as a dangerous gang.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit today in Detroit federal court on behalf of the group’s two members, Joseph Bruce, or Violent J, and Joseph Utsler, or Shaggy 2 Dope. It also names four fans as plaintiffs.

The lawsuit contends that the description of the Juggalos as a “loosely organized hybrid gang” in a national report on gangs violated the plaintiffs’ rights. The group says its fans are a family, not a gang.

Scott Gandy, who is one of the four fans who are suing, says he was forced to remove Insane Clown Posse tattoos to apply for the Army.