A judge has ruled that Insane Clown Posse has no right to sue the US government over the inclusion of the group's fans, known as Juggalos, on a 2011 list of American gangs.

District court judge Robert Cleland agreed with the government's bid to dismiss the rappers' lawsuit, stating that the FBI's National Gang Assessment report is just a "descriptive … assessment of gang trends".



Insane Clown Posse launched their suit in January, working with the Michigan branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. According to their complaint, Juggalos have been unfairly persecuted by police since being named as a "loosely organised hybrid gang" in the FBI's triennial report. "Just because you like a music group doesn't make you a criminal," complained Posse co-leader Shaggy 2 Dope. "We are hearing too many stories from our fans about the trouble [this] is causing them."

For Cleland, the issue wasn't whether Juggalos are a "hybrid gang", but whether the FBI and US justice department are liable for the actions of individual police departments. The National Gang Assessment report "does not recommend any particular course of action for local law enforcement to follow", he emphasised in his ruling, and its authors cannot be held responsible for officers' harassment of the band's fans.

Almost immediately, ACLU and the Insane Clown Posse announced that they will appeal Cleland's decision. "This is not the end," said Violent J, aka Joseph Bruce. "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."