Miller County Prosecutor threatens criminal action against ICP

MILLER COUNTY, Mo. — In the wake of the abrupt venue change for Insane Clown Posse’s Gathering of the Juggalos event, Miller County Prosecutor Matt Howard has issued a “cease and desist” letter to the band’s label, Psychopathic Records. In it, Howard says the band’s promotion activities and sales of tickets violated state law because the group had not obtained a permit for the event, which has historically drawn upward of 10,000 people. Howard pointed to the “largely forgotten, but catastrophic” 1974 Ozark Music Festival, which brought up to 350,000 to the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, according to some estimates, and left a major cleanup project in its wake. In response to that festival, the Missouri legislature “imposed a robust regulatory scheme requiring licensure of any type of music festival or outdoor musical activity likely to attract 5,000 or more people which will last for more than 12 hours,” Howard wrote. Because Insane Clown Posse and Psychopathic Records had been selling tickets and promoting the event scheduled for August 6–9 at Crybaby Campgrounds in Kaiser, and because they had not obtained a permit from Miller County according to Howard, “those actions… have been in violation of the Missouri Statutes above cited,” he said. Howard also noted the “gang” status the FBI has designated to Insane Clown Posse’s fans—known as “Juggalos”—and pointed out that misdemeanors committed by groups with that designation may be moved to felony status under Missouri law. Because the band’s label has declared its intent to move the event away from Crybaby Campgrounds, Howard said his office would take no further action against Psychopathic Records. However, he said that if the label is determined to be scheduling or promoting any similar event anywhere within the State of Missouri during the applicable period of limitations, without first obtaining a permit, his office may pursue criminal proceedings. Howard also noted that if the news of the event cancellation in Miller County proved inaccurate, his office would prosecute those violations, and would pursue an injunction to prohibit that event or any similar ones in the future. In his letter, Howard concluded, “Govern yourselves accordingly.”