The federal government can’t be blamed for any fallout from a 2011 FBI report that put a gang tag on fans of the music group Insane Clown.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the government on behalf of the group Insane Clowns and their fans known as Juggalos. The ACLU believes that their constitutional rights of free speech and due process were violated by a report that was released by the FBI claiming that they were a gang.  The Juggalos say that they have been targeted by police because of their jewelry or tattoos with the group’s symbol, a man running with a hatchet. The FBI report labeled the Juggalos as a “loosely organized hybrid gang.” It said those who identify as Juggalos have committed assaults and vandalism, and a “small number” of them have engaged in more serious crimes.

Currently, federal law defines the term “criminal street gang” as “an ongoing group, club, organization, or association of five or more persons
(A) That has as one of its primary purposes the commission of one or more of the
criminal offenses described in subsection (c);
(B) The members of which engage, or have engaged within the past five years, in a
continuing series of offenses described in subsection (c); and
(C) The activities of which affect interstate or foreign commerce.” 18 USC § 521(a).

U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland dismissed a lawsuit saying that the federal government should have never been sued. If there is any harassment going on, it is being done by local law enforcement.

 

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