Earlier today, Aug. 31 (UPI) — Micky Dolenz, the lone remaining member of The Monkees, launched a lawsuit against the Department of Justice to obtain the FBI’s files on the group from the 1960s.
The Monkees were accused of anti-Vietnam War actions in 1967 when they allegedly displayed graphics and phrases denouncing the war during a performance, as detailed in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday. The group had four No. 1 albums and a smash sitcom in the 1960s.
Dolenz, now 77, is suing for full access to the case file after a heavily redacted piece was made public in 2011. This portion contained testimony from an informant who attended the 1967 event.
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Images flashed on the screen behind the band, which the informant described as a “left-wing intervention of a political nature” that included “anti-U.S. messaging” on the Vietnam War.
Rolling Stone claims that the suit was brought by attorney Mark S. Zaid, a lifetime Monkees fan and expert in Freedom of Information Act lawsuits.
Nonetheless, “theoretically, anything could be in those files,” Zaid told Rolling Stone. “There may be records, but we are unaware of them. Perhaps it’s nothing at all. Still, time will tell.”
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Edgar Hoover’s FBI was “infamous for monitoring counterculture, whether they conducted illicit crimes or not,” according to Zaid.
According to the complaint, the FBI ignored a FOIA request made in June.
The suit claims it wants “all records the FBI created and/or possesses on the Monkees and/or its individual members.” Regarding his Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act request, “Mr. Dolenz has exhausted all necessary statutory administrative remedies.”
In addition to the deleted subject, the complaint states that Dolenz and his deceased bandmates Mike Nesmith, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork were probed for another matter.
The hit track “Last Train to Clarksville” was only one of many songs by the Monkees that contained underlying anti-war messages.
According to the lawsuit, the FBI also kept records on famed guitarist Jimi Hendrix and the Fab Four.