Juggalos have apparently been designated as a gang…
Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, the hip hop duo that makes up Insane Clown Posse is pretty unhappy with the FBI for labeling their fan-base, known as Juggalos, as a “loosely-organized hybrid gang,” so unhappy that they’re suing.
[...]
In its 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment report, the FBI named the Juggalos as a “hybrid gang” united by their fandom for the band. This became more serious when officials put a Juggalo wanted for missing probation on the Most Wanted list, calling him a “gang member.” The band’s site reads:
On behalf of the Juggalos, the Insane Clown Posse and Psychopathic Records are investigating a possible lawsuit against the FBI or other governmental agencies that have violated the rights of Juggalos on the mistaken belief that they are ‘gang members’.
Good for them. Goodness knows I’m no fan of the ICP and I think the juggalos are weird, bordering on the cultish, but a gang? WTF?
*Update: Reason has more.
S Yes a gang… in Virginia a criminal street gang is defined as: “Criminal street gang” means any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, (i) which has as one of its primary objectives or activities the commission of one or more criminal activities; (ii) which has an identifiable name or identifying signor symbol; and (iii) whose members individually or collectively have engaged in the commission of, attempt to commit, conspiracy to commit, or solicitation of two or more predicate criminal acts, at least one of which is an act of violence, provided such acts were not part of a common act or transaction.
These guidelines can label your local moose lodge if they happen to turn into a self identifying group, that act as a group to do criminal acts.
Think of how many “rap groups” with 10-20, or more members (?), commit crimes including violent ones in the name of the group (representing).
If a group of jugalos ID as that group sell drugs break into cars or whatever and get into fights and “represent”, well guess what here’s yer sign, you might be a gang member.
If the clown shoe fits…
I see.
So three members of a moose lodge who are criminals, even if the rest of the lodge don’t know about that, can get the entire lodge labelled as a criminal gang?
If so, that’s stretching the definition of ‘gang’ beyond all usefulness…
One would hope the lodge would give em the boot. But, there is more to it than that to be classified as a gang. Normally there is a process where many people who are trained in gangs will look at and vote if a group is a gang. Its not simple or fast. Not like how the SPLC determines what a hate group is.
More:
http://reason.com/blog/2012/09/28/defining-deviancy-downwards-fbi-identifi