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More than 1,000 fans of the band Insane Clown Posse are rallying to protest the FBI‘s classification of them as a gang.

The band’s fans, known as Juggalos, have gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in a show of strength and unity. ICP is suing the Department of Justice to lift the FBI’s designation of Juggalos as a hybrid gang similar to the Crips.

The rap duo has developed an intensely devoted fan base over the course of a 25-year career, and some fans held signs that said, “Music is Not a Crime.”

READ MORE: The Mother of All Rallies, Trump critics and juggalos protest all setting up in Washington

The protesters listened to a series of speakers and musicians amid clouds of marijuana smoke. They chanted “family” and an obscenity about the FBI.

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A 2011 report by the Justice Department’s Gang Task Force placed the juggalos, who favour extensive tattoos and outlandish face paint, in the same classification as overtly violent gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips.

The rap group and its fans claim to be a nonviolent community subject to largely class-based discrimination by law enforcement. The band, along with the ACLU, sued the FBI in 2014 seeking to change the classification but with little success so far.

PHOTO GALLERY: Juggalos gather in Washington

Theresa Lindsey, left, dressed as Snow White and Timothy Schlarmann, center, dressed as Uncle Sam, both from southern California, join other juggalos, as supporters of the rap group Insane Clown Posse are known, in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington during a rally, Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, to protest and demand that the FBI rescind its classification of the juggalos as "loosely organized hybrid gang." (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais). The Juggalos , fans of the rap-rock group the Insane Clown Posse demonstrate on the National Mall against the FBI for classifying them as a hybrid gang on September 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. Olivier Douliery/ Abaca Protesters gather near the Lincoln Memorial during the Juggalo March in Washington, U.S., September 16, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein People gather for a rally during the Juggalo March, at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, September 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. Al Drago/Getty Images People gather for a rally during the Juggalo March, at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, September 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images Juggalos, fans of the band Insane Clown Posse, listen to a speaker during the Juggalo March at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. EPA/SHAWN THEW

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