The Juggalos have gone home
By Brian DeNeal
Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 4:14 PM CDT
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LAMB - Juggalos began their departure from Hog Rock Campground Sunday night after the performance of The Gathering's headliners Insane Clown Posse, passing the sign "Jesus Loves You" at the end of Lamb Road.
Hardin County Sheriff Tom Seiner said The Gathering resulted in 21 drug charges and less trouble than some had expected.
"It was what we were hoping for. We had a very high police presence, and I think it deterred a lot of problems," Seiner said.
A few Juggalos have left reminders of their visit.
"There was some vandalism, graffiti on stop signs and trees, things like that," he said.
The vast majority of drug arrests were for cannabis possession. Illinois State Police arrested a man and woman for possession heroin and cocaine. Seiner said one man was arrested on charges of possessing more than 100 ectasy pills and possessing with intent to distribute.
The arrests were a result of roadblocks by deputies, Illinois State Police and U.S. Forest Service law enforcement.
The U.S. Coast Guard from Paducah, Ky., was stationed on the river ready in case there was a need for a river rescue or if there were any problems with the Cave-In-Rock Ferry, Seiner said.
Seiner said Sunday night there a few traffic tickets were issued and there was at least one reckless driving and DUI arrest. Several Juggalos were stranded with vehicles broken down on the festival grounds.
"One guy tried to drive off without paying $50 worth of gas, but we got it worked out," Seiner said.
He believes all the extra law enforcement was necessary.
"This wasn't a regional event, it wasn't a national event. We had people from as far away as Switzerland, this was international," Seiner said.
Twenty-one drug arrests at a music concert attended by thousands of fans may not be surprising for people in the music industry, but it is a lot for Hardin County, Seiner said.
"That's high for a four-month period," he said.
One group of musicians and their label's owner maintain they were victims of entrapment by Illinois State Police.
"It was the first time we had been invited out there -- and the last time we'll ever go," Gabe Vaughn, owner of Apt. 3/DNA Entertainment said, www.myspace.com/apt_3_gabe
Vaughn and "horrorcore rappers" ADR Lavey http://www.myspace.com/13419647 and Mars http://profile.myspace.com/index.cf...&MyToken=9a343ebd-ea4a-4810-bfa0-c59a4b826ab8 were running late. They drove in from the Holiday Inn in Marion and could not figure out where to go after state Route 1. The two were to take the stage together at 2 a.m. Vaughn said they were not being paid to perform. They have a lot of record sales in the Midwest and believed the trip was worth paying $2,000 in travel expenses for the publicity.
Mars, whose name when not on stage is M. Delgado, said he had been wanting to play at The Gathering for seven years.
He described the search for directions: "Finally, I said, 'You know, just ask those cops, right there,'" Vaughn said.
The driver, ADR, whose real name is D. Ruiz, pulled up to where several Illinois State Police were parked and troopers inside told them to drive up to a driveway, turn around and come back to turn onto Lamb Road, he said. Vaughn said the driveway where they were told to turn around was state property, presumably the Hardin County Work Camp property on state Route 1 just north of Cave-In-Rock.
"We came back and they said, 'Now that you've flipped around on our property, let's see some id's,'" Vaughn said.
Vaughn admitted that all three were in violation of Illinois law. Vaughn said he drank a beer earlier and the empty can was on the floorboard of the van. Delgado had a small bag of marijuana for which he apparently has a prescription in California. Ruiz has had multiple back surgeries for which he takes Vicodin and he had put his pills in a bottle smaller than the prescription bottle he has at home, Vaughn said.
Police cited Mars and he paid $100. Ruiz was jailed. Vaughn acquired the bond money, but Ruiz missed his performance.
Mars did perform, "at about 4 a.m. in front of about 20 people," Vaughn said.
"Back at the event, word had already spread that I had been arrested. On stage when they announced me they said, 'Right out of jail, Mars!" Delgado said.
Vaughn said the troupe had been wanting to return next year with another rapper, Malice, who sells "a ton" of CDs in the Midwest, Vaughn said, but now he won't consider it.
He said troopers implied he was only interested in sleeping with underage girls, that Ruiz was planning to sell Vicodin to underage concert-goers, that troopers complimented Delgado on the quality of the marijuana and, he contended, troopers said they liked the bands' T-shirts and asked for them for themselves.
Vaughn said in the police mobile command unit bus he saw on a "dry erase" board a clown face with a circle and slash through it and written below the words, "Down with the clown."
He said there was a sort of attack meter indicating the level of Juggalo aggression that involved clown faces.
"One clown meant attack was imminent and four clowns meant the cops are outnumbered, all cops are dead and that it's too late," Vaughn said.
Delgado said there were photos and biographies of each of the bands performing and said the police knew his name before he told them "like I had been profiled, or something."
He said at one point the behavior of the police scared him.
"They said, 'Boys, you are a long way from home.' I thought we were going to get beaten. Out here (in California) if somebody said that they're going to do some police brutality," Delgado said.
Vaughn's belief is since police were not allowed on the grounds, activity on the road was a sort of retaliation.
"They just wanted to pick anybody up," Vaughn said.
"They couldn't get on the private property of the event. They were trying to arrest as many artists and employees as they could outside the campground," Delgado said.
Vaughn characterized the trip from California as a complete bust.
"About $2,000 later, not including the bond, we didn't get to do what we were going to do. We're never going back. My family was down there," Vaughn said.
Vaughn is originally from northern Illinois and his family made the trip down to visit him.
"Even my family was just disgraced by the actions of our Southern Illinois State Troopers," Vaughn said.
He said he made a point to remember the name of one trooper who he said treated them professionally: D. Money.
"He was perfect the whole time, a real gentleman. The rest of the guys were just pathetic, but he was very professional the whole way," Vaughn said.
Vaughn said on the grounds of The Gathering he witnessed no violence among Juggalos, that everyone was relaxed.
"I know the churches there were very scared of the fans, that there will be murder and stuff. A lot of these kids are just kids. A lot of people were just happy to be there, talking to each other. They've talked for years and years on the Internet and are finally able to see each other," Delgado said.
Delgado said the environment was not one in which he is usually comfortable.
"I'm normally one of these people who is afraid to be in big crowds," he said.
But he strolled the grounds and felt at ease talking to the Juggalos.
"Nobody was starting trouble, they were just there to have a good time. It was a dream come true for a lot of people. If anything, it was a bunch of kids getting together to show appreciation for the music," Delgado said.
Delgado and the Mars image, complete with an iron mask, is one declared by MTV to be "the most controversial artist in America." Ever since the school shooter at Red Lake, Minn., was found to be a fan of "horrorcore rap" and Mars, particularly, his career was both made and plagued.
"Sorry to say, tragedy has pushed my career, how its been twisted in the media," Delgado said.
"Then Virginia Tech came around, and they tried to blame me for that stuff again. I'm banned from playing in Minnesota. I just had a show canceled when they found out I was headlining in St. Paul."
His rise to prominence was surreal. He had released the CD "Mars Attacks" shortly before the Red Lake tragedy.
"MTV contacted me. VH1 came out here and CBS flew out here to Oakland. I had 3 million hits in a month on my Web site. It was nuts. Me, I was just basically protecting my music. The kid was nuts in the first place.
"Then I found myself going head to head with Al Sharpton.
"The media attention made me sound like I told the kid to go out and do stuff," Delgado said.
The Hardin County arrest is a minor controversy and a glitch in Delgado's touring schedule.
"I'm actually on tour right now, headlining on a national tour. I want to say that was the worst I've ever had," he said.
There were other problems to generate law enforcement concerns.
Seiner said he spoke to a group of Juggalos who left The Gathering early because someone on the grounds had stolen their camping equipment.
He learned from them and others on the grounds drug use during The Gathering was regular.
"My intelligence is drug use was everywhere. There was open drug use and it was quite prevalent all over," Seiner said.
Seiner said paying extra deputies and other costs association could cost Hardin County around $10,000, which may be recouped with fine money.
"We may break even. That's why I'm aggravated.
"Before, the event promoter said he realized they were putting a burden on the county and wanted to help us. He rescinded the offer and left us with a huge responsibility and burden for taking care of security for a huge event," Siener said.
Seiner said he wished cooperation between the record label and the Sheriff's Department had been better.
"The record label, from day one when they contacted me in May, said they were going to work with us to relieve the burden," Seiner said.
He had been speaking to Psychopathic Records Attorney Marc Beginin. He said Beginin had offered Seiner's department open access to the festival grounds. Beginin said at past festivals, the label hired local law enforcement to provide security. He said the label also intended to donate some of the proceeds to a local charity as a goodwill gesture.
Seiner said the label gave the Licking County, Ohio, Sheriff's Department $32,000 with more than 130 deputies.
"There were 20 deputies on the ground that patrol and 10 in the surrounding community. I told their attorney, Marc Beginin, there was no way I could provide a security force inside, but wanted 10 officers outside and asked for a rate of pay less than deputy's pay," Seiner said.
"Two weeks before the event they backed out and said they would not pay for any of that. They said the most they could pay for was two deputies and one patrol car.
"They cited that, in talking to (Hog Rock owner) Tim York, in 11 years he had not paid (for events on his property) and they were not going to pay, either. They said Tim said it was a rural area, he didn't see they should have to pay for that because there weren't residences there."
He said Beginin also cited there were fewer ticket sales for The Gathering than at previous ones.
Seiner did not accept the offer to pay for two deputies and a patrol car.
"The county commissioners had a contingency plan to pay eight to 10 deputies 24 hours a day. The county is paying 100 percent of the cost of special details," Seiner said.
Seiner said the prior agreement broke down further.
"Next thing they said was no police are welcome. I told their head of security if we got a 911 call on the grounds they can't keep up from going in. If there is a 911 call we have to respond," Seiner said.
There were no criminal 911 calls, unless some were made with terrible cell phone reception in the area.
Though The Gathering may have been quiet compared to speculation, Seiner does not view it as a positive event for the area if there are 21 drug arrests.
"If this is the kind of tourism Tim York brings to Hardin County, this is not the kind of tourism we want," Siener said.
"This is a completely different thing than Hog Rock. Most of the bikers are middle-aged and laid back. The biggest problem other than medical calls at Hog Rock is complaints from locals on the motorcycle noise."
Seiner said he expects law enforcement to repeat the same enforcement activities if the event returns next year.
Tim York did not return a phone call for comment.
By Brian DeNeal
Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 4:14 PM CDT
E-mail this story | Print this page
LAMB - Juggalos began their departure from Hog Rock Campground Sunday night after the performance of The Gathering's headliners Insane Clown Posse, passing the sign "Jesus Loves You" at the end of Lamb Road.
Hardin County Sheriff Tom Seiner said The Gathering resulted in 21 drug charges and less trouble than some had expected.
"It was what we were hoping for. We had a very high police presence, and I think it deterred a lot of problems," Seiner said.
A few Juggalos have left reminders of their visit.
"There was some vandalism, graffiti on stop signs and trees, things like that," he said.
The vast majority of drug arrests were for cannabis possession. Illinois State Police arrested a man and woman for possession heroin and cocaine. Seiner said one man was arrested on charges of possessing more than 100 ectasy pills and possessing with intent to distribute.
The arrests were a result of roadblocks by deputies, Illinois State Police and U.S. Forest Service law enforcement.
The U.S. Coast Guard from Paducah, Ky., was stationed on the river ready in case there was a need for a river rescue or if there were any problems with the Cave-In-Rock Ferry, Seiner said.
Seiner said Sunday night there a few traffic tickets were issued and there was at least one reckless driving and DUI arrest. Several Juggalos were stranded with vehicles broken down on the festival grounds.
"One guy tried to drive off without paying $50 worth of gas, but we got it worked out," Seiner said.
He believes all the extra law enforcement was necessary.
"This wasn't a regional event, it wasn't a national event. We had people from as far away as Switzerland, this was international," Seiner said.
Twenty-one drug arrests at a music concert attended by thousands of fans may not be surprising for people in the music industry, but it is a lot for Hardin County, Seiner said.
"That's high for a four-month period," he said.
One group of musicians and their label's owner maintain they were victims of entrapment by Illinois State Police.
"It was the first time we had been invited out there -- and the last time we'll ever go," Gabe Vaughn, owner of Apt. 3/DNA Entertainment said, www.myspace.com/apt_3_gabe
Vaughn and "horrorcore rappers" ADR Lavey http://www.myspace.com/13419647 and Mars http://profile.myspace.com/index.cf...&MyToken=9a343ebd-ea4a-4810-bfa0-c59a4b826ab8 were running late. They drove in from the Holiday Inn in Marion and could not figure out where to go after state Route 1. The two were to take the stage together at 2 a.m. Vaughn said they were not being paid to perform. They have a lot of record sales in the Midwest and believed the trip was worth paying $2,000 in travel expenses for the publicity.
Mars, whose name when not on stage is M. Delgado, said he had been wanting to play at The Gathering for seven years.
He described the search for directions: "Finally, I said, 'You know, just ask those cops, right there,'" Vaughn said.
The driver, ADR, whose real name is D. Ruiz, pulled up to where several Illinois State Police were parked and troopers inside told them to drive up to a driveway, turn around and come back to turn onto Lamb Road, he said. Vaughn said the driveway where they were told to turn around was state property, presumably the Hardin County Work Camp property on state Route 1 just north of Cave-In-Rock.
"We came back and they said, 'Now that you've flipped around on our property, let's see some id's,'" Vaughn said.
Vaughn admitted that all three were in violation of Illinois law. Vaughn said he drank a beer earlier and the empty can was on the floorboard of the van. Delgado had a small bag of marijuana for which he apparently has a prescription in California. Ruiz has had multiple back surgeries for which he takes Vicodin and he had put his pills in a bottle smaller than the prescription bottle he has at home, Vaughn said.
Police cited Mars and he paid $100. Ruiz was jailed. Vaughn acquired the bond money, but Ruiz missed his performance.
Mars did perform, "at about 4 a.m. in front of about 20 people," Vaughn said.
"Back at the event, word had already spread that I had been arrested. On stage when they announced me they said, 'Right out of jail, Mars!" Delgado said.
Vaughn said the troupe had been wanting to return next year with another rapper, Malice, who sells "a ton" of CDs in the Midwest, Vaughn said, but now he won't consider it.
He said troopers implied he was only interested in sleeping with underage girls, that Ruiz was planning to sell Vicodin to underage concert-goers, that troopers complimented Delgado on the quality of the marijuana and, he contended, troopers said they liked the bands' T-shirts and asked for them for themselves.
Vaughn said in the police mobile command unit bus he saw on a "dry erase" board a clown face with a circle and slash through it and written below the words, "Down with the clown."
He said there was a sort of attack meter indicating the level of Juggalo aggression that involved clown faces.
"One clown meant attack was imminent and four clowns meant the cops are outnumbered, all cops are dead and that it's too late," Vaughn said.
Delgado said there were photos and biographies of each of the bands performing and said the police knew his name before he told them "like I had been profiled, or something."
He said at one point the behavior of the police scared him.
"They said, 'Boys, you are a long way from home.' I thought we were going to get beaten. Out here (in California) if somebody said that they're going to do some police brutality," Delgado said.
Vaughn's belief is since police were not allowed on the grounds, activity on the road was a sort of retaliation.
"They just wanted to pick anybody up," Vaughn said.
"They couldn't get on the private property of the event. They were trying to arrest as many artists and employees as they could outside the campground," Delgado said.
Vaughn characterized the trip from California as a complete bust.
"About $2,000 later, not including the bond, we didn't get to do what we were going to do. We're never going back. My family was down there," Vaughn said.
Vaughn is originally from northern Illinois and his family made the trip down to visit him.
"Even my family was just disgraced by the actions of our Southern Illinois State Troopers," Vaughn said.
He said he made a point to remember the name of one trooper who he said treated them professionally: D. Money.
"He was perfect the whole time, a real gentleman. The rest of the guys were just pathetic, but he was very professional the whole way," Vaughn said.
Vaughn said on the grounds of The Gathering he witnessed no violence among Juggalos, that everyone was relaxed.
"I know the churches there were very scared of the fans, that there will be murder and stuff. A lot of these kids are just kids. A lot of people were just happy to be there, talking to each other. They've talked for years and years on the Internet and are finally able to see each other," Delgado said.
Delgado said the environment was not one in which he is usually comfortable.
"I'm normally one of these people who is afraid to be in big crowds," he said.
But he strolled the grounds and felt at ease talking to the Juggalos.
"Nobody was starting trouble, they were just there to have a good time. It was a dream come true for a lot of people. If anything, it was a bunch of kids getting together to show appreciation for the music," Delgado said.
Delgado and the Mars image, complete with an iron mask, is one declared by MTV to be "the most controversial artist in America." Ever since the school shooter at Red Lake, Minn., was found to be a fan of "horrorcore rap" and Mars, particularly, his career was both made and plagued.
"Sorry to say, tragedy has pushed my career, how its been twisted in the media," Delgado said.
"Then Virginia Tech came around, and they tried to blame me for that stuff again. I'm banned from playing in Minnesota. I just had a show canceled when they found out I was headlining in St. Paul."
His rise to prominence was surreal. He had released the CD "Mars Attacks" shortly before the Red Lake tragedy.
"MTV contacted me. VH1 came out here and CBS flew out here to Oakland. I had 3 million hits in a month on my Web site. It was nuts. Me, I was just basically protecting my music. The kid was nuts in the first place.
"Then I found myself going head to head with Al Sharpton.
"The media attention made me sound like I told the kid to go out and do stuff," Delgado said.
The Hardin County arrest is a minor controversy and a glitch in Delgado's touring schedule.
"I'm actually on tour right now, headlining on a national tour. I want to say that was the worst I've ever had," he said.
There were other problems to generate law enforcement concerns.
Seiner said he spoke to a group of Juggalos who left The Gathering early because someone on the grounds had stolen their camping equipment.
He learned from them and others on the grounds drug use during The Gathering was regular.
"My intelligence is drug use was everywhere. There was open drug use and it was quite prevalent all over," Seiner said.
Seiner said paying extra deputies and other costs association could cost Hardin County around $10,000, which may be recouped with fine money.
"We may break even. That's why I'm aggravated.
"Before, the event promoter said he realized they were putting a burden on the county and wanted to help us. He rescinded the offer and left us with a huge responsibility and burden for taking care of security for a huge event," Siener said.
Seiner said he wished cooperation between the record label and the Sheriff's Department had been better.
"The record label, from day one when they contacted me in May, said they were going to work with us to relieve the burden," Seiner said.
He had been speaking to Psychopathic Records Attorney Marc Beginin. He said Beginin had offered Seiner's department open access to the festival grounds. Beginin said at past festivals, the label hired local law enforcement to provide security. He said the label also intended to donate some of the proceeds to a local charity as a goodwill gesture.
Seiner said the label gave the Licking County, Ohio, Sheriff's Department $32,000 with more than 130 deputies.
"There were 20 deputies on the ground that patrol and 10 in the surrounding community. I told their attorney, Marc Beginin, there was no way I could provide a security force inside, but wanted 10 officers outside and asked for a rate of pay less than deputy's pay," Seiner said.
"Two weeks before the event they backed out and said they would not pay for any of that. They said the most they could pay for was two deputies and one patrol car.
"They cited that, in talking to (Hog Rock owner) Tim York, in 11 years he had not paid (for events on his property) and they were not going to pay, either. They said Tim said it was a rural area, he didn't see they should have to pay for that because there weren't residences there."
He said Beginin also cited there were fewer ticket sales for The Gathering than at previous ones.
Seiner did not accept the offer to pay for two deputies and a patrol car.
"The county commissioners had a contingency plan to pay eight to 10 deputies 24 hours a day. The county is paying 100 percent of the cost of special details," Seiner said.
Seiner said the prior agreement broke down further.
"Next thing they said was no police are welcome. I told their head of security if we got a 911 call on the grounds they can't keep up from going in. If there is a 911 call we have to respond," Seiner said.
There were no criminal 911 calls, unless some were made with terrible cell phone reception in the area.
Though The Gathering may have been quiet compared to speculation, Seiner does not view it as a positive event for the area if there are 21 drug arrests.
"If this is the kind of tourism Tim York brings to Hardin County, this is not the kind of tourism we want," Siener said.
"This is a completely different thing than Hog Rock. Most of the bikers are middle-aged and laid back. The biggest problem other than medical calls at Hog Rock is complaints from locals on the motorcycle noise."
Seiner said he expects law enforcement to repeat the same enforcement activities if the event returns next year.
Tim York did not return a phone call for comment.
