Violent J (left) and Shaggy 2 Dope comprise Insane Clown Posse. They say their right to free speech, right to assemble and the good ol' American right to rawk are being violated. Those problems sparked a campaign by ICP and the Juggalos to get the FBI to publicly repudiate the gang label. Juggalos not associated with gangs have reported being repeatedly stopped by police, added to gang databases, blocked from the military, placed on stricter forms of probation, suspended from school and fired from jobs. It had far-reaching and severe consequences. ICP and the Juggalos were outraged, saying the FBI effectively criminalized being a fan of a musical group. The move touched off one of the strangest controversies at the crossroads of pop culture, criminal justice and the First Amendment in contemporary America.

That's because in 2011, the FBI took the extraordinary and unprecedented step of labeling the entire fan base of ICP a gang, placing them alongside the Bloods, Crips and MS-13, after a string of crimes carried out by people identified as Juggalos. 'Saturday Night Live' has repeatedly ribbed them, and they are arguably in strong contention for the title of America's most hated subculture.īut - amid all the trash-throwing, which served as a prelude to the 'seminar,' a key event at the annual gathering, where ICP offers its fans a sort of state of the Juggalo union - a question was running through my mind: Are these people gang members? If the FBI is to be believed, every one of the hundreds of Juggalos under this tent were potentially part of a criminal syndicate. Often derided as 'white trash,' ICP and its fan base have a penchant for garbage throwing and chronically soaking one another with cheap Faygo soda (their drink of choice). The nearly-two-decade old event - held this year in Oklahoma City in late July - combines the communal spirit of Burning Man, the debauchery of a NASCAR infield and the edgy theater of a freak show. In fact, this is how it goes every year at the Gathering of the Juggalos, a four-day festival that hip-hop group Insane Clown Posse (ICP) organizes for its fans. 'Yeah, we're good.' And so the mayhem went on for roughly 40 minutes. 'Was that water?' he asked a friend before swiping it with an index finger and lifting it to his nose.

A fat drop of mystery liquid plopped on the arm of a man standing near me. Women caught between the warring factions casually popped umbrellas to shield themselves from the trash juices raining down, as if dealing with a passing shower.

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