Entertainment

FBI report warns of growing Juggalo threat

J. Arthur Bloom Deputy Editor
Font Size:

The FBI has included the devotees of campy ‘horrorcore’ rap group Insane Clown Posse on a list of major gang threats, alongside Crips, Bloods, MS-13 and the Hells Angels.

Presumably, that makes the platinum-selling duo Joseph “Violent J” Bruce and Joseph “Shaggy 2 Dope” Utsler the kingpins of a vast criminal army in clown make-up.

Juggalos, as the rabidly enthusiastic fans are known, “are rapidly expanding into many US communities,” the report warns. “Although recognized as a gang in only four states, many Juggalos subsets exhibit gang-like behavior and engage in criminal activity and violence.”

First reported by Wired’s Spencer Ackerman, the FBI report makes the bizarre allegation that the Juggalo threat is expanding in New Mexico in particular because of their affinity for Native American culture, mentioning their connection to the rap group only in a footnote.

“They are attracted to the tribal and cultural traditions of the Native Americans residing nearby,” says the report, based on National Gang Intelligence Center data-gathering.

The group is expanding, thanks to social networking, which is “a popular conveyance for Juggalo sub-culture.”

The report adds, “transient, criminal Juggalo groups pose a threat to communities due to the potential for violence, drug use/sales, and their general destructive and violent nature.”

They have a large gathering in Illinois each year, a four-day Woodstock for their odd, often violent counterculture. At last year’s gathering, Tila Tequila was pelted with rocks and feces. This year’s festival brought Lil John, Flavor Flav, Busta Rhymes, George Clinton and Charlie Sheen. There was one casualty.

J. Arthur Bloom