Lately in Washington, there are massive marches and protests conducted every few days, particularly on the weekends.
Early in the year, there was the Women’s March, the climate march, and more.
But Saturday, something a little bit different is coming to town – the Juggalo March.
Juggalos are ardent fans of the fringe hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse and they paint their faces like clowns to be like ICP’s founders, Joseph Utsler (commonly known as Shaggy 2 Dope) and Joseph Bruce (commonly known as Violent J).
The march on Washington is not just a big party, though. They group is designated as a criminal gang in several states, of which the FBI has taken notice. In 2011, the FBI’s National Gang Threat Assessment identified the Juggalos as a “a loosely-organized hybrid gang” who often “exhibit gang-like behavior and engage in criminal activity and violence.”
"Most crimes committed by Juggalos are sporadic, disorganized, individualistic, and often involve simple assault, personal drug use and possession, petty theft, and vandalism," the FBI report said. "However, open source reporting suggests that a small number of Juggalos are forming more organized subsets and engaging in more gang-like criminal activity, such as felony assaults, thefts, robberies, and drug sales. Social networking websites are a popular conveyance for Juggalo sub-culture to communicate and expand."
And the Juggalos, along with the Insane Clown Posse and their record label, Psychopathic Records, believe these descriptions from the Department of Justice are unfair.
The Juggalos and ICP will march on Washington to bring awareness to this gang designation. Per the Juggalo March's website, "the FBI's inclusion of Juggalos as a 'gang' has resulted in hundreds if not thousands of people subjected to various forms of discrimination, harassment, and profiling simply for identifying as a Juggalo."
The criminal designations have prompted lawsuits as well. Insane Clown Posse, currently represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, have an appeal pending before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. However, they intend to march anyway.
"We have tried to use the American judicial system to achieve justice and we failed," the Juggalo March's website reads.