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Here's Exactly what the FBI Thinks About the Juggalos

Spoiler Alert: The FBI is kinda clueless.

The Freedom of Information activist website Muckrock has uncovered the FBI's file on the Insane Clown Posse and their legions of Juggalos. If you haven't been keeping up with the news, some bonehead over at the FBI deemed the Juggalos a "gang." In order to protect their hyper-loyal fanbase from the various legal ramifications that come from being associated with a gang, ICP filed a suit against the FBI. And now, thanks to Muckrock, we know exactly what the FBI thinks of them. Quite obviously, there's a lot of misinformation there. The FBI's mission was to prove that, "The Juggalos are a legitimate gang with a large following…who follow the ICP in almost a religious manner."

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The FBI’s Salt Lake City office conducted a 14-month investigation into the horrorcore duo’s fanbase. The file identifies Juggalos and Juggalettes as a “violent street gang” numbering in the thousands, whose members “sometimes paint their faces to look like wicked clowns” and “continue the dress by carrying small axes.” The goals of the investigation were to “examine the structure, scope, and relationships pertaining to the … violent street gang; to identify members and the organization structure of the gang,” and, perhaps most surprisingly, “to identify all illegal activities which may constitute a pattern of racketeering activity.” Ultimately, the FBI hoped to “develop larger conspiracy investigations and successful conspiracy prosecutions” of even single robberies using the Hobbs Act, a statute frequently used in corruption cases involving public officials and labor unions.

"Carrying small axes?" "Racketeering activity?" "Conspiracy investigations?" The best part about phrases like these is how achingly glaring it is that the FBI is really reaching here. Anyways, the file is a good reminder that misunderstood subcultures in America are still treated with McCarthey-esque levels of mistrust. Will the Juggalo Scare continue? Hopefully people will wise up and realize these dudes just want to have fun.