Thousands of face-painted fans of Insane Clown Posse were expected to rally, march as part of protest over FBI’s «gang» label.
WASHINGTON — Juggalo nation, meet Mr. Lincoln.
Collecting around a stage set up before the Lincoln Memorial, a few hundred Juggalos — fans of the Detroit-based hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse — turned out Saturday to listen to music and bring attention to what they say is a gang label from law enforcement that has cost some of their face-painted friends and family their jobs and family.
«You can’t go out to malls (in face paint) … You can’t go out showing that you are a Juggalo,» said Tyler Dulac, a 22-year-old from Mason, Mich. He said while he hasn’t been targeted personally, he knows of a colleague who was harassed in public when he was in Juggalo attire.
Other Juggalos (and Juggalettes) told stories of losing jobs, of being harassed by police, of being threatened with having their children taken away, all because of their musical preferences and face-painting.
One woman from Manassas, Va., said she lost her job as a probation-parole officer «because of the type of music I listen to.»
«If horrorcore is so scary, why isn’t Stephen King in jail?» Jessica Bonomettin asked from the stage before the Reflecting Pool as the event got underway.
Shawn Rosen, 34, a Walmart employee in Apache Junction, Ariz., said he was visiting a fair in Oregon some years ago when a police officer pulled him aside and started frisking him for drugs.
«I don’t even do drugs,» Rosen said.
The Juggalos’ problems stem from a 2011 report from the FBI that classified them as a «hybrid gang.» Later gang threat assessments didn’t include the label but the Juggalos say the damage was done. They’ve been trying to force the FBI to rescind it publicly since — and that’s why they came to Washington on Saturday for a rally, march and concert to be capped off with a set tonight by ICP.
«We need you and your voice to make sure that we shout above the chaos of this noisy world and are heard loudly and clearly as we deliver a message right into the nerve center of America that the Juggalo Family is not a joke, punchline, or any form of criminal organization,» says the official website for the march, www.juggalomarch.com.
Josh Metroff, a 30-year-old unemployed chef from Toledo, put it even more simply: He hasn’t been discriminated against himself but came because, «I’m not a gang member.»
Last year, a judge dismissed the Juggalo nation’s case against the Justice Department but several members, along with the American Civil Liberties Union in Michigan, are appealing to the U. S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. They say while Juggalos «express their shared identity by displaying distinctive tattoos, art, clothing» and that «some paint their faces like clowns,» their purposes «do not include engaging in criminal activity.»
That’s not to say Juggalos haven’t been involved in criminal acts. One in Wisconsin involved a woman’s finger being chopped off. Another involved two men accused of beating and stomping another man in Maryland. But the ACLU’s argument says that any large fan base is going to have a number of criminals in it.
«(Like) other musical fan bases, the vast majority of Juggalos have nothing to do with criminal activity,» the most recent legal brief said, «let alone organized crime.»
The early crowd Saturday was nowhere near the 3,000 expected but it was likely more would come in as the day continued. The crowd seemed far from dangerous, despite the cursing of the speakers and the hatchet-man symbols connected with the band.
Instead they chanted «Family» and spoke about the support Juggalo nation affords its members. Some brought children, and many carried hand-painted signs including Joshua Palmer of Columbus, Ohio. His said, «Liking crappy music is not a crime.»
Aleah Palmer, 27, also of Columbus, also acknowledged that ICP fans know the violent lyrics of the songs are not meant to be taken seriously and that the music is «awful.» She said it’s meant to be taken satirically.
Palmer, who works in child protective services, said it’s «absolutely true» that if a case worker finds out a parent is a Juggalo, it can wind up as a factor whether it has any relevance or not.
«We’re loud, we’re noisy, we’re obnoxious. We own it,» she said, adding that while many Juggalos come from dysfunctional families, that — and the bands they like — doesn’t make them criminals.
Toni Shores, 25, of Newark, Del., brought an American flag spray painted with the image of a happy, dreadlocked face, saying it was a tribute to a Juggalo friend who was stabbed and killed when he intervened in an attack on a woman and her child.
She said a man from a neighboring rally for President Donald Trump grabbed it from her and she had to get it back.
«He didn’t even ask why it was spray painted. He just grabbed it,» she said, adding that she and her family have also been targeted by police.
Gary Duncan, 34, is a salesman born in Detroit who now lives in Ocean City, Md. He said he knows people who have been stopped and searched for having a hatchet man sticker on their car and «it’s nothing but trouble after that.»
«This gang label is very unjust,» he said. «There are good and bad people (everywhere). … These are the people everyone loves to hate? Why? We aren’t racists. We aren’t bigots. We aren’t women beaters. That’s not what we’re about.»
ICP’s duo, Joseph (Violent J) Bruce and Joseph (Shaggy 2 Dope) Utsler are set to speak briefly at 3:50 p.m. and then close out the day with a performance near the Lincoln Memorial beginning around 9 p.
