The Insane Clown and 1,500 of their fans march through Washington, DC.

 

A so-called 'Mother of All Rallies' that hoped to bring thousands to DC in support of Donald Trump on Saturday turned out to be a mere sideshow after it was outshined by a rally organized by the Insane Clown Posse.

Hundreds of Trump fans gathered in the capital and gamely waved flags and signs in support of the president - who had skipped town to play golf in New Jersey.

But they were dwarfed by the Juggalos - fans of the Insane Clown Posse - who gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial for an all-day rally and concert to express their anger over being classed as a 'gang' by the FBI and Justice Department - something they say is class-based discrimination.

Insane Clown Posse duo Violent J (aka Joseph Bruce, left) and Shaggy 2 Dope (aka Joseph Utsler, right) address around 1,500 fans who gathered in Washington, DC, on Saturday

The Insane Clown Posse had called their fans together to protest a 2011 decision by the FBI to officially classify the band's fans as a gang

A 2011 report by the Justice Department's Gang Task Force labeled the band's fans - known as Juggalos - a 'loosely organized hybrid gang'

That is the same designation that the Justice Department has given to violent, criminal street gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips

Juggalos frequently sport outlandish face paint and clothing, but claim they aren't harmful or dangerous - just fans of the flamboyant hip-hop group

The protest attracted around 1,500 Juggalos to the Lincoln memorial, where the band performed and spoke to the crowd, who marched through Washington's streets

One of the signs here reads 'Faygo not Fascism' - a reference to the band's preferred soft drink, Faygo, which they namecheck in a number of songs and spray on their crowds at gigs

The band - who are popular among working-class Americans and in poorer areas of the USA - say that the Justice Department is engaging in class-based discrimination

Joseph Bruce - known to these fans as Violent J - has said that many aspects of the band's characteristics were inspired by his childhood in a desperately poor family in Michigan

The Insane Clown Posse have been active for 28 years and classify themselves as horrorcore hip-hop, with songs that lay out an elaborate interconnected mythology

Many of the signs emphasized that the Juggalos were 'a family,' not a gang. The fandom has proven sizable 

and resilient despite - or perhaps because of - the constant mockery the band receives

A 2011 report by the Justice Department's Gang Task Force labeled the Juggalos, who favor extensive tattoos and outlandish face paint, a 'loosely organized hybrid gang.' 

That's the same classification used for overtly violent gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips.

The rap duo has developed an intensely devoted fan base over the course of a 25-year career, and its fans claim to be a nonviolent community.

Protesters chanted 'family!' as well as several obscene slogans aimed at the FBI, and held up signs saying 'Clown Lives Matter' and 'Grab Them By The Posse.' 

One demonstrator, Matt Fratelli of Queens, New York, held up a sign that said 'Judge me not by the color of my face paint.'

Fratelli, 27, said he worked for a government agency but didn't want his superiors to know he was a juggalo for fear of discrimination.

'We're a family, a large one. I'm here to march for my people,' Fratelli said.

The band, along with the ACLU, sued the FBI in 2014 seeking to change the classification but have had little success so far.

The sign here is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the band's much-mocked 2009 single 'Miracles' in which the band espoused an anti-scientific worldview, including the lines 'F**king magnets, how do they work?'

Many of those present held up signs referencing Black Lives Matter - such as this Juggalo, seen marching through Washington, DC with his friends

Even some of the band's black fans - such as Richard Williams (pictured), 29 - referenced BLM in their banners and flags. Note the 'FAMILY!!' written on his knuckles.

The Insane Clown Posse has been trying to fight the FBI and Justice Department designation in court for decades, supported by the ACLU, but have had little luck so far

Many of the signs, banners and flags included the 'hatchet man' logo - seen in orange on this black flag. The band also sells 'Hatchet Gear' featuring the logo

There was some crossover between Antifascist groups - who were in town to protest the pro-Trump 'Mother of All Rallies' held on the same day in DC - and the Juggalos, as seen here

A Juggalo holds up a sign referencing the video game Portal while standing with his fellow Insane Clown Posse fans outside the Lincoln Memorial

A sense of humor was on display among many of the band's fans - as one might expect of a group supporting a pair of rappers who sing about serial killers while wearing clown makeup

Although the band's songs are frequently about extreme violence and other unsalubrious acts, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope are both Christians 

A pair of makeup-clad Juggalos post for the camera outside the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday. The band's fans are known for their eclectic fashion sense

Juggalos gather along the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as the Insane Clown Posse hold their rally. 

Meanwhile the pro-Trump organizers had dubbed their gathering the Mother of All Rallies and hoped to bring out thousands to pack the National Mall on Saturday in support of President Donald Trump.

They had urged people to attend by saying: 'If you stand for patriotism and freedom, this rally is for you!'

Although far fewer people turned out than the organizers expected - perhaps not surprising in DC, an overwhelmingly Democratic town - the demonstrators were determined to show their support for the president. 

'We are here to tell the world, the media and the Congress, not just the Democrats but the Republicans as well, that President Trump has our full support and that it's time to drain this swamp,' one of the speakers said, to applause.

Trump was not in town to appreciate his supporters. He was spending the weekend at his golf club in New Jersey ahead of next week's visit to the UN General Assembly.

The same day, pro-Trump organizers had dubbed their gathering the Mother of All Rallies and hoped to bring out thousands to pack the National Mall on Saturday in support of President Donald Trump

A man dressed as Captain America speaks to a demonstrator during the Mother of All Rallies. It attracted a few hundred people but was overshadowed by the Juggalos' event

A trailer with giant letters reading 'TRUMP' and 'MOAR' - Mother of All Rallies - is seen at the event. Promoters said 'If you stand for patriotism and freedom, this rally is for you!'

'We are here to tell the world, the media and the Congress, not just the Democrats but the Republicans as well, that President Trump has our full support and that it's time to drain this swamp,' one of the speakers said, to applause from the crowd

 

 

There was a small counter-protest, including Antifa members. A separate protest had gathered at the White 

House earlier in the day, where a couple of dozen people protested Russia's interference in the general election

At one point during the 'Mother of All Rallies', a group of Black Lives Matter activists appeared near the stage.

But the momentary tension was defused when one of the Trump rally organizers invited them onstage and offered one of them a microphone. 

'It's your right to say whatever you believe, and it's their [the crowd's] right to let you know what they think about what you're saying,' the rally organizer said. 

'The important thing is that everybody has a right to speak their mind.'

The diverse political demonstrations highlighted the stark political divisions in the United States.

The Trump rally was preceded Saturday morning by a small anti-Trump protest near the White House, where about two dozen people demanded tougher action against Russian President Vladimir Putin in retaliation for Moscow's interference in the 2016 US election.

Wearing T-shirts that read, 'We're not PUTIN up with this anymore,' the demonstrators then marched to the nearby home of the Russian ambassador.

A woman wearing a clown's nose smokes a cigarette as several thousand fans of the US rap group Insane Clown Posse, known as Juggalos, prepare to assemble

Daily Mail