Insane Clown Posse has been talking about putting together a march in Washington since last summer but recent events have triggered firming up of plans.
On Saturday, September 16, the group will hold their Juggalo March on Washington, asking all of the band’s followers to meet in the nation’s capital to prove that they are not a gang as they have been portrayed by the FBI and the Department of Justice.
The 2011 Gang Task Force called the Juggalos “a loosely organized hybrid gang” and, since 2014, ICP has been fighting the label but without success with another dismissal recently handed down.
According ICP and their label, Psychopathic Records, this has resulted in “hundreds if not thousands of people subjected to various forms of discrimination, harassment, and profiling simply for identifying as a Juggalo. Over the past five years, our legal team has heard testimonies and reports from Juggalos all over the nation who have lost custody of their children, been fired from jobs, denied access into the armed forces, and the most common consequence — being officially labeled as a gang member by law enforcement agencies for wearing Juggalo related clothing or brandishing one or more Juggalo tattoos.”
In the announcement, ICP set out their reason for the march:
That is the date that the Juggalo Family must truly shine and show America and the world that we are not a gang, public menace, cult, or any of the other untrue labels they have attempted to slap on us throughout the years. We must collectively show them that we truly are a family that is united by a shared love of music and fellowship. We help and support each other like no other so-called “fanbase” ever has in the history of popular culture. We give each other food or water if someone is hungry or thirsty. We lend emotional support to each other in times of sorrow or struggle and we celebrate with each other in times of triumph. We may be the outsiders, the misfits, the weirdos, and the underdogs of the mainstream world, but as a result we have created our own world – one built on a rock-solid foundation of community, creativity, joy, and love.
There also will be a free concert on that day which will include ICP and bands and performers that have “over the years professed to support Juggalos”. Names will be announced at a certain date.
Insane Clown Posse have released fourteen studio albums, nine EPs, 14 compilation and remix albums and 42 singles since 1992.
