A judge has thrown out Insane Clown Posse’s lawsuit against the FBI, saying the government has every right to categorize the band’s fans as gang members. The suit stemmed from a 2011 report that the law enforcement organization had tagged Juggalos as a “loosely organized hybrid gang”—something both Juggalos and ICP members Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J didn’t appreciate. ICP has tried to sue the FBI twice, asking to declare it illegal for the bureau to draw parallels between the Psychopathic Records crew and known criminal organizations.
According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland dismissed the latest lawsuit because the FBI’s report on gangs “does not recommend any particular course of action for local law enforcement to follow.” Meaning that, just because the FBI report calls the Juggalos—or anyone else—a gang, it doesn’t meant it’s necessarily trying to crack down on them.
Of course, Juggalos aren’t taking the decision lightly. In a statement released by the ACLU, Violent J says that this isn’t “the end” to the case, adding that Psychopatic Records will “keep fighting to clear the Juggalo family name.” “While it’s easy to fear what one does not understand,” he concludes, “discrimination and bigotry against any group of people is just plain wrong and un-American.”