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Everything You Never Wanted to Know About the Juggalos

Deputy Christopher N. Pratt

Gang/Intelligence Unit

November 22, 2010

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During my short time on the Sheriff Department’s Gang/Intelligence Unit one group seems to keep randomly popping up and catching my attention as I conduct various searches, member contacts, and so on. This group is comprised of fanatical followers of the rap group known as the (ICP). On the streets they call themselves the Juggalos.

Since the Juggalos keep randomly appearing and catching my attention, I felt the need to give them some measure of attention in attempts to try and teach myself more about them. I haven’t been able to find a significant source of collected data on the Juggalos, but what I did find were several chopped up pieces of information scattered throughout the web. I decided to put together some basic information to help other officers learn more about them.

This is by no means an exhaustive narrative of the Juggalos, and I have done my best to provide an accurate list of references at the end of this document to verify the information I am providing.

Basic History

The rap group known as ICP was founded in the late 1980’s; however, the term “” was first used in a concert in 1994 when ICP founders Joseph Bruce (aka ) and Joseph Utsler (aka ) addressed their fans and followers as part of their Juggalo family. Bruce and Utsler are originally from , MI. Juggalo groups also fall under the hip-hop group which is comprised of ICP’s founding members and a handful of their associates also known as the group.

Juggalo Identifiers

Juggalos are often relatively easy to identify even when not dressed up as clowns. Common dress can be defined as somewhat punk-rock or gothic in nature, and Juggalos will often wear ICP related clothing. Juggalo vehicles can be easily identified as they display ICP related decals. Black combat boots, pants or long shorts with metal pins, chains, needles, and etc., baggy t-shirts or tank tops, jackets or etc. with anything metallic are also common trends amongst the Juggalos. For obvious reasons, contact officers should consider Juggalos to be armed, and that many of these items on their clothing could be a potential weapon. As we all know; baggy clothing allows them to conceal weapons easily as well.

The average Juggalo is almost a mirror image of the Gothic or Emo social groups. Most Juggalos tend to be Caucasians; pale in complexion, often from suburban neighborhoods, dressed in baggy clothing with ICP branded items, or even dressed as evil clowns face paint and all. However, Juggalo followers come from all walks of life. It is not uncommon to find a Juggalo from a rich r poor background, any and all ethnic backgrounds, and even various religious groups. There are also celebrities claiming to be Juggalos. Some popular Juggalo

Everything You Never Wanted to Know About the Juggalos 3 followers are pro wrestlers Kazushige Nosawa and , rappers , , King Fu Vampire, , and .

Most Juggalos will wear a of the Psychopathic Record’s logo called the Hatchetman. This is simply a silhouette of a cartoon man running with a hatchet in his hand. There has also been a female version of this symbol that has started to emerge recently. Examples of each are provided later in this document.

Other are images from the ICP’s record cover art, resembling some sort of . It is also common to see a Juggalo with different terms or phrases tattooed somewhere on their person. Usually you might see something like “Juggalo”, “Twizted”, “Evil Clown”, or “ABK” (Any Body Killa).

The main threat from the Juggalos is that they tend to populate junior and senior high school children. They usually recruit social outcasts with antisocial behaviors, and those who simply do not fit in with everyone else. Because of their odd dress style and peculiar behaviors, Juggalos are often harassed by youths from other social groups. This mockery can probably be connected to some of the Juggalo outburst as they reach their breaking points from excessive harassment.

One might think that as a young person grows into an adult that he or she might abandon such ludicrous behaviors, but many Juggalos continue to maintain this lifestyle. It is common to find Juggalos in their 20’s all the way up into their 40’s, and still actively participating.

Juggalo Territories

As mentioned earlier; the Juggalos began in Detroit, , but have been involved in crimes in Utah, Washington, Pennsylvania, , Connecticut, and various areas in Colorado including Aurora, Arvada, Lakewood, Canon City, Pueblo, and .

As I mentioned earlier; the Juggalos can often be found in middle-class suburban areas, but it is not uncommon to find them running amok in or urban areas as well.

The Gathering of the Juggalos (GOTJ)

The Juggalos have an annual conference commonly referred to as “the Gathering of Juggalos”. This Gathering can be loosely defined as a sort of Woodstock for the Juggalo Family. The event usually lasts for approximately four days. There really is no common grounds for holding this circus because the Juggalos have trashed previous sites, and have been banned from returning to that area. The Gathering location and schedule is usually posted on the Gathering’s website www.juggalogathering.com, and usually has a wide assortment of different rappers, bands, DJ’s, and musical groups.

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The Gatherings have been known to become problematic as the members behave erratically, and are known to be under the influence of drugs/alcohol. Nudity, profanity, and violence are all common practices at a Juggalo gathering. At the 2010 Gathering two of the performers were attacked with bottles of the Faygo soda. Both were injured, and are planning to sue ICP for their injuries.

Juggalo Crime

Crimes related to the Juggalo family include murder, shootings, kidnapping, rape, necrophilia, cannibalism, assault, and arson with no common pattern or trends. Crimes seem to be randomly acted out, and are often acts acted out by one or more individuals as opposed to an actual gang related incident. Juggalo related violence is usually a mob of Juggalos on one victim. They tend to run and fight in packs.

The Juggalo “code” (as one might loosely refer to it) encourages all sorts of miscreant behaviors. They are not beyond committing violent, sexual, or even grotesque crimes, and in fact, such acts give a Juggalo a sense of pride and street credit amongst peers. The Juggalos claim to be strongly opposed to racism, bigotry, and snitches, but everything else is apparently okay.

Most Juggalo news is easy to find on the web. Some Juggalo related crimes that made the news are as follows:

February 1, 2006-Jacob Robida conducted a series of and random shootings which took the lives of three people, including himself and a local police officer. June 18th and 20th, 2006-Washington. Several Juggalos dressed as clowns attacked park visitors in Tacoma. Nearly two dozen were injured, and the Juggalos threatened to kill and behead other visitors of the park. February 2007-Bryan Grove and his girlfriend Tess Damm were arrested murder for stabbing Tess’ mother to death. Grove pled down to second degree murder, and is up for parole in 30 years. Damm was charged with first degree murder, and another unnamed party was arrested for possible involvement. September 2008-Utah. 18 year old Blue Wynn and an unnamed 15 year old, both Juggalos, attempted to kidnap a 5 year old boy by trying to force him into a car. Witnesses described both would-be kidnappers by their distinguished style of dress, and the clown masks they wore. The boy was safely recovered. July 2008-Utah. Two teens lured a 17 year old out of his home, and then attacked him with a battle axe stabbing him over a dozen times. Police linked the crime to the Juggalos with a necklace the victim managed to tear off of one of his assailants. The necklace was a Juggalo symbol. November 1997-. Joseph Bruce was arrested for assaulting one of his fans with a microphone. Bruce was released on a $5000 bond four hours after his arrest.

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Early 1998-Indiana. Bruce and one of the former ICP band members had stopped at a Waffle House where they were harassed by one of the restaurant’s patrons. The band members retaliated by assaulting the customer. Months later Bruce plead guilty to disorderly conduct charges that had been reduced from battery charges. January 2000- Michigan. Rapper assaulted an associate of Bruce and Utsler’s, and threatened him with a gun in a parking lot. Eminem and ICP have maintained strong rivalries ever since. November 2010-Juggalo Ben “Suzpekt” Butler was hospitalized after drinking a Faygo soda that someone had laced with rat poison. No other information is available at this time, but another Juggalo is suspected of the crime. February 2009-Pennsylvania. US ARMY veteran, and soon to be police officer Michael Goucher was stabbed to death by two teenagers. Police say that as the teens were killing Goucher they acted out lyrics to songs from ICP’s . The Monroe County District Attorney stated that the Juggalos killed Goucher simply because they wanted to know how it felt. Late 2009-Pennsylvania. Four Juggalos attack and kill a fellow Juggalo. 21 year old Anthony Locascio was lured into the woods where his fellow Juggalos where they beat him 60-80 times with metal baseball bats. Locascio allegedly had snitched to local police revealing information on an unidentified rap group. Police say that Locascio’s murder was acted out almost exactly as the lyrics to ICP’s song Imma Kill U : “First, I smack your head with a bat The bloody splat, crack with impact”

September 2009-California. 20 year old rapper and Juggalo Sam McCroskey, also known as “Syko Sam”, was charged for four different murders. One of the victims was a pastor from Virginia. The lyrics to one of McCroskey’s songs titled My Dark Side depict his behavior and crime perfectly.

"You're not the first, just to let you know. I've killed many people and I kill them real slow. It's the best feeling, watching their last breath. Stabbing and stabbing till there's nothing left."

August 2010-A Juggalette known as Envy was reported to have been murdered by her boyfriend, also a Juggalo. No other details were available at this time.

August 2010-. 49 year old Mark E. Rice is arrested after an incident at the Juggalo Gathering. Rice assaulted another Juggalo with a deadly weapon. The assailant was then chased off the scene by other fans, and was picked up by local police. The victim was airlifted to the trauma center for his injuries.

Behavior

The general consensus on the Juggalos is that they are simply just a group of young adults dressing like clowns, and acting it out. Most law enforcement officers consider the Juggalos to

Everything You Never Wanted to Know About the Juggalos 6 be a relatively minor problem; however, there are always exceptions to everything. While they may appear to be a mixed up teenager that looks like a carnie reject, there are still Juggalos that take themselves seriously. Like every gang they have their hardcore members, and those that just want to fit in.

The typical Juggalo demeanor or attitude as they define it as “I/we don’t give a fuck” which can prove problematic to contact officers. It is almost safe to say that the Juggalos are very cult-like in nature. Members tend to follow ICP and their songs, and take the messages quite literal.

While searching for other information relating to the history of the Juggalos I accidentally came across a Juggalo religious gathering that is held on online forums and videos. This religious group’s activities are still rather minor; however, it shows the level of commitment the members have for their gangs, as well as their overall state of mind with their beliefs. Further research lead me to an actual petition of Juggalos wanting a “Juggalo ” to be written. Currently, I have not found anything that suggests this bible is anything more than just a pipe dream.

Many believe that there is even a special place in hell reserved just for them. Others have gathered together and created the Juggalo Faith website (2010) where someone by the alias of “Reverend Last Rite” posts online sermons to his fellow Juggalo followers. These sermons are a mixture of actual Christian scripture, and the Juggalo’s imaginative philosophies.

35 year old Jason Faanes (AKA Rev. Last Rite) of VA Beach, Virginia claims that his church is the first Juggalo faith system to be recognized by the federal government. Faanes is also actively serving in the US Navy. All of his information can be found easily on his MySpace page.

Jason Faanes is pictured below.

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Another web based group that is a sub-set of Faanes’ Juggalo Faith group call themselves the Fellowship of Juggalos (FOJ) even has a creed for their followers posted on the web page (2010). The creed is as follows:

“I am a Juggalo. I am an individual guided by Light. I know who I am and who I want to be. I recognize that the path to Shangri-La requires an open mind. I shall not judge. I am part of a Family. I shall Love my Family as I would my blood. I shall do my Family no harm as I know what is done to others shall surely be done to me. I shall strive to honor my Family and not disgrace their name. I am a Ninja. I have no Fear. I do not Fear the unknown fore I embrace the wonders of the world around me and the differences in others. I shall meet adversity head on fore I am a Survivor. Nothing can stop my Shine. I am Human. I recognize my flaws. I shall strive to change the things I can control and seek strength for the things I cannot. I shall cherish the teachings of my ancestors and the Family who have fallen before me. I have Love. With Love there is Unity and Strength. Love does not hurt, nor does it seek to destroy. I too, shall not hurt or seek to destroy. With Love in my Heart, Love for my Family, and Love for the Carnival, I shall find my path to Shangri-La”

The FOJ website (2010) also listed the basic belief system which the followers are expected to adhere to. Again these beliefs are loosely derived from the Holy Bible, but are contorted to fit the Juggalo’s lifestyle. Shangri La is the Juggalo’s heaven or paradise. The Dark Carnival can refer to the Juggalo’s home or place of origin, but is also the name given to their faith, and their hierarchy. Believers of the Dark Carnival believe

As with everything else; the Juggalo beliefs originate from ICP’s series of albums referred to as the “six joker’s cards”. Each album represents a different being with a different message relating to the faith and apocalyptic prophecies.

This is a short sample of the Juggalo beliefs that I found on the FOJ website (2010):

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“Family Values: 1. A Juggalo does not Hate/ Discriminate 2. A Juggalo does not steal from his/her Family 3. A Juggalo does not covet his/her ninjas significant other 4. A Juggalo keeps his/her Drama in hand, but out of sight 5. A Juggalo avoids Cliques and keeps his/her Family whole 6. To a Juggalo Everyone is Equal 7. A Juggalo does not initiate Religious Battles fore that leads to Hating 8. A Juggalo should always try to have fun. 9. When a Juggalo has Beef with another ninja he/she keeps it between them and doesn't involve the rest of his/her Family 10. A Juggalo doesn't have to Lie to be Down 11. Above all a Ninja is proud to be a Juggalo”

FOJ Coat of Arms

For more in-depth information on the Juggalo faith and fellowship can be found on the www.juggalofaith.com or the www.fellowshipofjuggalos.com websites.

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Many states are beginning to classify the Juggalos as a security threat group, and it is wise to consider them as we would any other gang member when making contact. Because of the unpredictable behavior of the Juggalos, and the unknown mental state when making contact officers should use their best discretion. In a recent contact with a Colorado based Juggalo; my contact informed me that the Juggalos still gang-bang, and are no different than the Crips or the Bloods. Juggalos protect members of their “family”, and act similarly to most other street gangs with regards to snitches, rivals, and etc.

Juggalo Terminology

This information was available on a Juggalo made website called the Other Side of Jay (ND). This is a list of the more commonly used Juggalo terms and phrases. I have tried my best to add a brief description of each term. If interested; there are several more terms available on the website.

Juggalo/Juggalette-member(s) of the Juggalo family.

Faygo-a beverage consumed by the Juggalos. Founded by ICP.’s Psychopathic Records.

Family-Juggalos refer to their gang and members as a family, not a gang.

Dark Carnival-Considered to be the Juggalo’s home, but is more of a myth.

Ninja/Ninjette-Stealthy Juggalo fighters.

Down with the Clown-Lifetime supporter of Juggalo, and a believer of the Dark Carnival

Clown Love- Showing respect to a Juggalo member.

Killa-Juggalo friend/acquaintance.

Shangri-La- Juggalo heaven or paradise.

Woop, Woop- Juggalo greeting similar to “what’s up?

The Ringmaster-Leader of the Juggalo’s Carnival

MCL-Much Clown Love

Hatchetman-Main Juggalo symbol, also the symbol of Psychopathic Records.

Chicken-Redneck.

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ABK-Any Body Killa

Bowling Ball-Human head, but used as a bowling ball.

Carnie-Member of the Dark Carnival

Dark Lotus-6 founding members of Psychopathic Records

Foo Dang-When used in reference to a male it means he is weak or cowardly. When used in reference to a female it means she is strong or assertive.

Inner City Possee- ICP’s first/original gang set from Detroit.

JCW-Juggalo Championshit Wrestling. Psychopathic Record’s pro wrestling group. Has made appearances in WCW and WWF

Juggalo Rydas- Juggalos with the Hatchetman tattoo

Juggaloco-Insane Juggalo

Juggaloism-Followers of the Juggalo beliefs and principles.

Murder Go Round-Juggalo’s form of karma, or retribution. Similar to the “eye for an eye” philosophy.

Necromancy-Refers to magic of the dead.

Runnin’ with a Hatchet-Juggalo saying that refers to living the Juggalo lifestyle. Another way of phrasing “Living by the sword”.

Scoopa Villains-Another Juggalo set lead by Bruce and Utsler.

Southwest Strangla- Utsler’s rank, or title amongst the Juggalos.

The Juggla- Bruce’s rank, or title amongst the Juggalos.

Trees- another name for marijuana.

Voodoo- Another term for dark magic.

Wicked Clowns-refers to Bruce and Utsler.

Wig Split-means to cut someone’s head in half.

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Juggalo and ICP Related Symbols

Most of the Juggalo’s tattoos, symbols, and such come from the ICP albums cover art. The most common identifying tattoo of a Juggalo is the Hatchetman, a simple image of a man running with a hatchet in his hand.

A newer derivative of this symbol is the female or Juggalette version of the Hatchetman:

The following images are album covers, but are also popular tattoos, decals on vehicles, clothing, , and so on. I’ve also provided the album name and production year. Images were found on www.respecta.net website.

Carnival of Carnage-1992

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The Ringmaster-1994

Riddle Box-1995

The Great Milenko-1997

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The Amazing Jeckel Brothers-1999

Hell’s Pit-2004

Bang! Pow! Boom!-2009

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Juggalo Followers, Tattoos, etc. I collected the following pictures to provide a general idea of the Juggalo fashion style, trends, tattoos, graffiti, and what have you. There doesn’t appear to be any major consistency, except the tattoos identifying that person as a Juggalo follower. Images can be easily found on MySpace accounts, Flickr, or any Juggalo related web page.

I’ve also attached pictures of ICP’s founding members Bruce and Utsler.

Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler

AKA

Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope

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Juggalo flashing hand signs “WC” for Wicked Clown

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Coolio showing his Juggalo tattoo

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Resources

Juggalo Information www.insaneclownposse.com http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Juggalo http://tripatlas.com/Juggalo http://juggalos.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Juggalo_terms

Juggalos in the News http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090527/NEWS/905270324 http://juggaloholocaust.wordpress.com/

Pictures www.respecta.net www.flickr.com www.insaneclownposse.com

Juggalo Faith http://www.myspace.com/rev_last_rite/photos# www.juggalofaith.com www.fellowshipofjuggalos.com

Juggalo Terminology http://theothersideofjay.tripod.com/id6.html