HUH? Montana Once Listed a ‘Gang’ with Connections to Disney?

Just turn on the television and you will hear nothing but a bunch of talking heads discussing an increase in criminal activity. Doesn't matter what day it is, you will likely see a story about crime or gang activity happening somewhere in the country. Thankfully, Montana is not riddled with gang activity. Even though Montana is no stranger to gangs. They exist in Montana. Just nothing like you would expect to see from all the depictions on the news. In fact, one of Montana's supposed "gangs" used to be part of the Disney corporation.

Rappers, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope are the founding members of a group called the Insane Clown Posse. Popular artists who have been touring around the world for decades. Back in 2011, Insane Clown Posse came under fire when the Justice Department declared the rappers and their loyal fans (known as "Juggalos") an actual GANG.

According to Wikipedia

Insane Clown Posse sued the FBI, whose National Gang Intelligence Center listed Juggalos as "a loosely organized hybrid gang" in a 2011 report. The report states that Juggalos are "recognized as a gang in only four states... law enforcement officials in at least 21 states have identified criminal Juggalo sub-sets".

 

Montana is one of the states that listed ICP and Juggalos in the 2011 Montana Gang Threat Assessment.

Major findings regarding the problem of gangs in Montana include: 30.8 percent of law enforcement agencies in the State indicated there were gangs or gang members within their jurisdiction; the most common juvenile gang identified by agencies was the Insane Clown Posse.

Kind of weird to think that being a loyal fan of a particular band could land you on an FBI watchlist. But, in 2011 that was the case for fans of the Insane Clown Posse. What is even more strange is that this supposed "GANG" used to be signed to a Disney Corporation record label. You read that right... Disney used to have alleged gangsters working for them.

According to History.com

On June 24, 1997, the Walt Disney Corporation orders one of its subsidiary record labels to recall 100,000 already shipped copies of an album by a recently signed artist—Insane Clown Posse—on the day of its planned release. The issue at hand: the graphic nature of the Detroit “horror-core” rap duo’s lyrics.

People dressed up in clown makeup aren't the first images that come to mind when I think of a gangster. Sounds more like a Batman villain. But, according to Montana's Department of Justice, they are.