Send in the clowns … to court.
Hip hop duo the Insane Clown Posse announced Friday they're suing the FBI for their fans.
Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, better known as Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope of Detroit's Insane Clown Posse (ICP), took the stage at their fan event, the 13th Annual Gathering Of The Juggalos–and Juggalettes–to tell the "most hated band in the world" would fight the FBI.
This comes after their fans made the FBI's 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment List being described as "a loosely-organized hybrid gang ... rapidly expanding into many US communities."
Let’s get this straight, a Juggalo is not a gang member," Violent J told vice.com. "Consider a Juggalo that, 15 years ago, got a hatchet man tattoo or something. Now they’ve got a family, they’re working in real estate or something, and they’re driving home and get a speeding ticket. Next thing you know, he’s in the gang file, and that will be taken into consideration in any trial.
The group has also set up a site, juggalosfightback.com, where victims of anti-Juggalo discrimination can share their experiences and get their claims reviewed by ICP's legal team for free.
The majority of ICP's music is rather violent, with top songs including, "F--- the World," "My Axe," and "Boogie Woogie Wu."
Their song "What Is A Juggalo" includes the following lyrics:
What is a juggalo?
He drinks like a fish
And then he starts huggin people
Like a drunk b----
Next thing, he's pickin fights
With his best friends
Then he starts with the huggin again
… What is a juggalo?
He ain't a b----boy
He'll walk through the hills
And beat down a rich boy
Walks right in the house
When you're having supper
In the past, people who claim themselves to be Juggalos have been associated with a string of violence.
In September 2011, two Pennsylvania men were convicted of first degree murder against a 21-year-old Army veteran who was found with multiple stab wounds in the neck and stomach in 2009.
Another man was arrested for firing a shot, scaring children while donning clown makeup while another was convicted of helping her boyfriend murder his mother.
ICP's Violent J told site noisecreep last year it's not easy being a Juggalo, a fan of the "most hated band in the world."
"They are totally misunderstood," said Violent J. "People think Juggalos are a gang and they are on the FBI gang list. That is funny. Gangs do crime, sell dope, take over areas, run neighborhoods. Juggalos don't do any of that s---. ICP is ICP."
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