Is it actually illegal to dress up as a creepy clown and just stand somewhere? I swear I read somewhere that one got arrested for doing so.
While it's not illegal to dress up as a clown, Florida law could help police crack down on creepy clowns: it states that anyone "wearing the mask, hood, or other device ... with the intent to intimidate, threaten, abuse, or harass any other person" can face a misdemeanor charge.
According to South Carolina state law, no one over the age of 16 can appear in public wearing a mask "or other device which concealed his identity." The statute makes exceptions for people whose trade or employment involves wearing a mask. There's also a city of Greenville ordinance that prohibits "molesting, disturbing or following persons."
Of course, any other police officer could charge you with disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, creating an unnecessary sense of alarm, and trespassing.
A lot of people have Coulrophobia (John Wayne Gacy added to it) so these pranksters could easily give somebody a heart attack. It doesn't help you have a--holes like that clown on a bridge that was supposedly holding a knife / fake knife running after people.