Did You Know? It Takes Three To Gang-O

You, too, may be a gang member. Legally, at least. And it does appear we've been given a specific, nation-wide, no doubt accepted in any court definition of gang member. And if he or she is wearing this, run!

From Salt Lake

At the Utah Gang Conference, [LeFavor] explained Juggalos meet the criteria for a gang in some circumstances because they are a group of three or more individuals, they have a common name and symbol (many wear tattoos or necklaces with the "hatchet man") and collectively engage in criminal activities in some incidents.

to Modesto, the same story.

Prosecutors say the Juggalos arrested at the park had all the ingredients of a criminal street gang: three or more members, a common sign or symbol (in this case the cartoon hatchet man), and banding together to commit a crime.

When we started this stab at something, we intended to make a pathetic comparison between Juggalos & Juggalettes & those who attend the Tea Parties ("Future 'Baggers: Meet The Juggalos" was a working title) but this coincidence of phrases could actually be confused w/ something.

(Other possible confusion might be three or more people wearing T-shirts, jerseys, & ballcaps of the same team, & drinking in public. Tailgaters beware!)

Curiouser & ... we thought there must have been a federal or at least state gov't. association definition, but an impartial defense atty. indicates it's law-enforcement making the law/"guideline":

Defense attorney Bill Miller represents Huggins, a minor who is charged as an adult in the Graceada Park case. He said gang laws give broad discretion to authorities. As Miller put it, "The Legislature didn't define what a gang member is, and the cops just make it up themselves."

Another impartial observer would be

West Valley City Police Detective John LeFavor, who teaches a Juggalos class to police officers, teachers and social services workers at the Utah Gang Conference each year, said the majority of Utahns who define themselves as Juggalos are not violent.

[...]

LeFavor said police don't have a firm figure on the number of Juggalos in Utah, but said there are "thousands." He said Utah gang detectives estimate about 10 to 15 percent of Juggalos are engaged in criminal activity and meet the definition of a gang member.

LeFavor, who is considered an expert on Juggalos by law enforcement agencies across the country, has traveled to Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma and California to share his knowledge about the Juggalo subculture.

Nice work if you can get it.

At least the Salt Lake Trib names sources. If LeFavor was one of the sources in the Modesto Bee story, no one would know.

 Authorities point to assaults in Colorado, Utah, Washington and elsewhere

Prosecutors say

a crime analyst for the Modesto Police Department said local authorities have watched the Juggalos grow in numbers since their first contact with the group in 2005. She said she has spent half of her time researching Juggalos in the past year, noting that her work includes surveying MySpace and other social networking Web sites to identify Insane Clown Posse fans who post photos of themselves throwing hand signs for WC, or "wicked clown."

That's nice work too.

A prosecutor said authorities have documented

the prosecutor pointed to

Not one named law-enforcement source. Concern for the safety of our brave cops & D. A.s & their families? That is, SWAT Teams should, while breaking down your door w/ a battering ram or a military surplus armored vehicle, be masked to prevent reprisals against their loved ones. And if the masks prevent their being identified when they brutalize you, shoot your 15-(human)-yr.-old dachshund because it barked at a pig, break everything in your house, & so on, well, bug or feature, you decide.

We can only assume that the law-enforcement network that defines "possible" gang membership/activity is the same one Detective LeFavor used to start his free travel & nice hotel rooms effort to save America from its youth.

Did he start acquiring his expertise five or so yrs. ago?

Stephen Nelson, a prosecutor assigned to gang cases in the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, said his office has noticed that Juggalo cases have become increasingly violent since they started appearing more frequently within the past five years.

Just a yr. before the Modesto PD's "first contact with the group in 2005?" Huh. We'd wish Senator McCarthyDetective LeFavor good luck in his venture, but he's doing just fine, isn't he?