Juggalos lose FBI gang classification appeal
An appeals court ruled that the FBI’s classification wasn’t a “final agency action” and couldn’t be challenged.
Juggalos, the die-hard fans of Insane Clown Posse, took a major setback in their mission to be declassified as a gang by the FBI. On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the FBI referring to Juggalos as a “loosely-organized hybrid gang” in a 2011 report wasn't an officially binding legal designation and can't be challenged.
The court's decision throws out a 2014 lawsuit from ICP's Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, which said that the FBI report violated their constitutional rights and caused a venue to cancel one of their concerts. Other Juggalos, who claimed that the gang classification had let to harassment from police, joined them as plaintiffs in the case. In September, Juggalos gathered in Washington D.C. to protest the "gang" label.