Insane Clown Posse & Fans Gather In Washington D.C. For Juggalo March
By Scott Bernstein Sep 17, 2017 • 8:51 am PDT
On Saturday, fans of Michigan horrorcore act Insane Clown Posse, who call themselves “Juggalos,” assembled in Washington, D.C. to fight a gang designation put on them in 2011 by the FBI. Daniel Dale of The Star reports hundreds of Juggalos from all walks of life and professions joined ICP’s Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope for speeches in front of the Lincoln Memorial, a peaceful march and musical performances.
The 2011 decision by the FBI led to Juggalos being listed along with the Bloods, Crips and MS-13 just because of the music they love. “We’re different,” said rally host Kevin Gill as per Dale. “We’re not dangerous.” A parade of Juggalos spoke about the troubles they’ve encountered in their daily lives just because their favorite band is the Insane Clown Posse. Among them, a woman who lost custody of her kids, a man harassed by the police for his ICP tattoos and a probation officer who lost her job simply for posting about her love of the band on Facebook. Farris Haddad, a Juggalo who works as an attorney, discussed how if feds considered Deadheads a gang, “The FBI would be the laughingstock of the entire fucking planet” as per Dale. Yet like Deadheads, Juggalos gather at festivals to hear the music they love and come together with the people with whom they most identify.
“We’re here because we’re not bad. It’s all love and all family,” 35-year-old construction work Ryan Lee told Dale. “I mean, look at the government. You’ve got bad people in there, right?” The march comes on the heels of ICP’s Psychopathic Records losing a court case against the F.B.I. and Department of Justice fighting the designation of Juggalos as a “loosely organized hybrid gang.” Juggalo Jeff Feken hoisted a sign starting “Make America Whoop Again” and told Dale, “We listen to scary music. People don’t know what to think about us. We just love our band, man.” The Juggalo March culminated with a grand finale performance from Insane Clown Posse.
Check out Tweets detailing reporter Daniel Dale’s experience at the march:
