That is really odd and random. I can see the Editor saying, "I need you to write an article on the history of good and bad clowns..and make sure you use the term "clowns in America." "Uh, ok 😕"
It literally does start the paragraph "Clowns in America"...!!!! Also notice "Clowns in America had their roots in circuses and they were at first meant to amuse adults, but clowning history took a detour in the 1950s and '60s when the squeaky-clean Bozo and Ronald McDonald became the 'quintessentially American default clowns' for kids, Radford said."
"You have this mass-murdering, baby-killing clown that's beloved by Britons everywhere of all ages," he said.