A Detroit rap group has lost its federal lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Justice Department over the classification of its fans as members of a criminal gang, RT.com report. The Insane Clown Posse (ICP) has first brought the case when the National Gang Intelligence Center produced a report in 2011 entitled "National Gang Threat Assessment: Emerging Trends," wherein it said that fans of the rap duo had been involved in several incidents that legitimized the threat assessment issued by the FBI. The report also cited one case wherein two Juggalos, or followers of ICP, had been charged with beating and robbing an elderly homeless man.
The fans along with ICP founders Joseph Bruce (aka Violent J) and Joseph Utsler (Shaggy 2 Dope) accused the defendants of violating their First Amendment rights to free association and expression, as well as their Fifth Amendment right to due process. Moreover, the plaintiffs had claimed that their inclusion in the report was "an arbitrary and capricious state action."
However, District Judge Robert Cleland dismissed the lawsuit and reasoned that the plaintiffs had lack standing. Moreover, Cleland explained that the defendants were not responsible for the purported untoward actions of local enforcement.
"These allegations concern local law enforcement authorities in two different states, each of which made an independent decision to detain and question Plaintiffs. There is no indication that either the FBI or DOJ directed state police to detain and question either subject," Cleland wrote.
The ICP and the Michigan American Civil Liberties Union unit had already filed an appeal, RT.com said.
Bruce said in a statement, "This is not the end -- we'll keep fighting to clear the Juggalo family name. There has never been-and will never be-a music fan base quite like Juggalos, and while it is easy to fear what one does not understand, discrimination and bigotry against any group of people is just plain wrong and un-American."
