Insane Clown Posse (Getty)
The FBI has classified fans of the Detroit-based hip-hop band Insane Clown Posse--who call themselves Juggalos and paint their faces like their heroes--as a violent, fast-growing "gang" worth monitoring. News of the bureau's move first came courtesy of Wired reporter
Spencer Ackerman.
The Juggalos are highlighted in the bureau's
2011 National Gang Threat Assessment report as a "non-traditional gangs" alongside the traditional ethnic-based Asian, East African and Caribbean gangs; the report classifies Juggalos among "hybrid gangs" such as the Latin Kings.
According to information from the National Gang Intelligence Center cited in the report, the Juggalos "are rapidly expanding into many U.S. communities" and "engage in criminal activity and violence."
Law enforcement officials in at least 21 states "have identified criminal Juggalo sub-sets," according to the NGIC.