Some worried the convergence in the nation’s capital of a rally for fans of a rap group and two dueling Trump-related protests would lead to violence. But the gatherings remained mostly peaceful.
As a rule of thumb, it is not big news when multiple political rallies overlap in the same weekend in the nation’s capital, a prime setting for anyone trying to send a message to governmental power.
But there are exceptions to every rule. And certainly, in this case, an exception for a large gathering of Juggalos airing their grievance against the Federal Bureau of Investigations. (More on this later.)
Downtown Washington, D. C. was home Saturday to three prominent demonstrations that some feared might combine violently but they instead stayed largely separate and peaceful, with modest attendance.
The self-described ” Mother of All Rallies,” designed to support President Trump and “defend American culture,” was staged on the National Mall for late Saturday morning.
Around the same time and several blocks away near the White House, was a separate rally to ” Protect American Democracy,” which organizers say was meant to tell the president to take a tougher stance against Russian interference in American elections.
The rally garnering the most attention was ” Juggalo March,” an assembly set near the Lincoln Memorial of so-called Juggalos, fans of the horrorcore rap duo Insane Clown Posse who often wear face paint, tattoos and other symbols worn by the band’s members. The march was described on its website as “a collective statement from the Juggalo Family to the world about what we are and what we are not.”
ICP was founded in 1989 and, despite disdain from many in response the group’s crude and sometimes violent lyrics, developed a considerable and dedicated following of Juggalos. (The term derives from a 1992 ICP song, as NPR’s Tanya Ballard Brown reported.)
In a 2011 report, the FBI classified Juggalos as a “loosely-organized hybrid gang” following violent incidents allegedly committed by fans of ICP. Juggalos, in tandem with the ACLU, sued the government in 2014, claiming Juggalos’ “constitutional rights to expression and association were violated” by the FBI’s classification. The case was first dismissed then later reinstated.
The Juggalos say the gang label has, through unfair discrimination, made it difficult to live a normal life for many of their members, some of whom were scheduled to speak on stage in Washington on Saturday as part of the effort to express their anger to the FBI.
“We are taking our [sic] fight to the streets. Literally,” said a statement on the “Juggalo March” website.
As for politics, however, the “Insane Clown Posse and most Juggalos consider themselves very apolitical,” pop culture writer Nathan Rabin told NPR’s Scott Simon .
By the account of reporters from NPR and WAMU present on the national mall, the crowds at all three events were enthusiastic but modest in size.
The pro-Trump “Mother of All Rallies” featured a float with signs saying “secure our borders” and “drain the swamp” and drew some prominent names from the so-called alt-right, including Jack Posobiec. The rally’s organizers wrote on their websites that Confederate flags and racism would not be allowed, clearly hoping to distinguish themselves from the march of white supremacists that turned deadly last month in Charlottesville, Va.
Nevertheless, as NPR’s Windsor Johnston reported, some counterprotesters attempted to tie the MOAR rally to Charlottesville, including one who held a sign featuring an image of the woman killed by a motorist there.
Officials kept all three protests far from each other, which, along with a heavy police presence, appeared to keep the Saturday events peaceful, reported WAMU ‘s Sasha-Ann Simmons.
