A Maryland man says two of his roommates attacked him this week in an attempt to remove a tattoo on his arm with a knife and fire, all in the name of their higher power, Insane Clown Posse. He suffered a series of horrific injuries and has since had to have the egregiously damaged limb amputated below the elbow.
The victim, 31-year-old Zachary Swanson, apparently “disrespected” ICP in front of his fellow Juggalo roommates Paul Martin Hurst, 33, and Cary Lee Edwards, 35, on Monday morning in the tiny town of Hebron. At that point, the men fractured Swanson’s nose and face, broke 11 of his ribs, lacerated his liver, and caused his brain to bleed. Hurst and Edwards now face charges that include attempted murder in the first degree, and they remain held without bond.
A local Maryland newspaper has more on the brutal nature of the crime, but the men used weapons like shovels and lighter fluid to try to punish Swanson for disrespecting Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Their focus, at least for some of the attack, was Swanson’s ICP tattoo. The “burning was in an attempt to remove a tattoo that Edwards did not believe that Swanson earned,” read the court papers charging the men.
The Insane Clown Posse and its followers are no strangers to controversy, of course, including an FBI decree that ICP fans can be legally classified as gang members, as well as a sexual harassment lawsuit from a former employee against “Dirty Dan” Diamond. For photos from the 2014 Gatheirng of the Juggalos, which included a wedding, check out SPIN’s gallery. For photos of the accused, look no further:
