# Last Surviving Monkee Sues to see FBI files on the Band **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 31, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659 "2022-08-31T13:58:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/1 "2022-08-31T13:58:58Z")
I don’t know what’s the most bizarre point here – that Dolenz had to sue to get the files, or that the FBI was keeping files on the subversive activities of the PreFab Four. > [@](#): > > Part of a file that is publicly visible includes comments by an FBI informant saying that a 1967 concert featured "left wing innovations of a political nature.” > > The last surviving member of [the Monkees](https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/topic/the-monkees) is hoping to get to the bottom of what [FBI](https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/fbi) files say about the 1960s pop group. > > On Monday, drummer and singer Micky Dolenz filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking full access to the bureau’s documents on the band, [according to Law&Crime](https://lawandcrime.com/celebrity/well-leave-no-stones-unturned-last-living-member-of-the-monkees-sues-the-fbi-to-get-full-unredacted-file-on-the-iconic-rock-band/). > The agency posted [a redacted version of documents](https://vault.fbi.gov/the-monkees) on the group in 2011, under the title “Additional Activities Denouncing the U.S. Policy in the War in Vietnam.” > > Part of the text that is publicly visible features comments by an FBI informant who attended a 1967 concert and described “subliminal messages” on a screen behind the band that “constituted ‘left wing innovations of a political nature.’” > > During the show, the screen showed messages and images related to the Vietnam War and civil unrest, according to the informant. > > Another file is completely redacted, [according to the New York Post.](https://nypost.com/2022/08/30/the-monkees-micky-dolenz-sues-doj-to-get-secret-fbi-files/) > > The 77-year-old Dolenz had filed a Freedom of Information Act request in June but sued the FBI after failing to get a timely response, [according to Billboard.](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/micky-dolenz-monkees-sues-fbi-1235133063/) > > … > > Mark Zaid, a lawyer who filed the lawsuit on Dolenz’s behalf, told Law&Crime that most people “might not think” that the litigation “would reveal what our government was up to,” but he said it shows that the FBI “was actively monitoring war dissenters, perceived radicals and anyone counter to [former bureau director] J. Edgar Hoover’s cultural beliefs, and that included the Monkees!” > > The lawsuit also mentions that the FBI kept files on other rock icons like Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon. > > Dolenz had been unaware of the redacted documents until Zaid suggested that they research whether the FBI kept a file on his band, [the lawyer told Rolling Stone.](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-monkees-micky-dolenz-fbi-1234584299/) > **[Micky Dolenz, Last Surviving Monkee, Sues To See Unredacted FBI Files On Band](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/micky-dolenz-fbi-file-lawsuit_n_630e5423e4b065bfc4b29edc)** > > Part of a file that is publicly visible includes comments by an FBI informant saying that a 1967 concert featured "left wing innovations of a political nature.” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/2 "2022-08-31T14:16:31Z")
Maybe the files were stored at Mar al Lago. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/3 "2022-08-31T14:25:03Z")
It was a different time, you understand. The world had gone crazy. The FBI was seeing subversives under every paisley toadstool, grass was the gateway drug to losing the values that made this country great, the president kept an enemies list, and even saying you didn’t like the War was undermining this great country and giving aid and comfort to the enemy! Those damn hippies were an existential threat to Our Way of Life! And so, they saw a threat from a band that was essentially a preteen-safe Beatles. Might as well have said the Archies were pinkos. So the Monkees proved them right by releasing a trippy drug dream film that was unintelligible at any speed. And I just love the phrase “left wing innovations of a political nature.” ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/4 "2022-08-31T15:23:20Z")
_gasp_ I didn’t know Michael Naismith kicked the bucket! As far as FBI files go, I probably have one. In college, I sent a letter to Nixon protesting the mining of Haiphong harbor. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/5 "2022-08-31T15:28:57Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > I didn’t know Michael Naismith kicked the bucket! Last December (and it’s “Nesmith” - “Naismith” was the basketball guy). A talented man. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/6 "2022-08-31T15:37:57Z")
Not surprising the F.B.I. would’ve been suspicious of the Monkees - their '67 tour had Jimi Hendrix opening for them…for awhile, anyway. "The Jimi Hendrix Experience played just eight of the 29 scheduled tour dates,” writes Mental Floss, “and then on July 16, 1967, Jimi flipped the Forest Hills, Queens, New York, audience off, threw down his guitar and walked away from Monkeemania.” > **[Jimi Hendrix Opens for The Monkees on a 1967 Tour; Then After 8 Shows, Flips...](https://www.openculture.com/2016/01/jimi-hendrix-opens-for-the-monkees-on-a-1967-tour.html)** > > In 1967, The Monkees embarked on a 28-city tour through the United States and England. The oddest thing about the tour: for eight dates, Jimi Hendrix opened for the band with his newly formed Experience. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/7 "2022-08-31T15:42:40Z")
@Gyrate Thanks for the name correction. Mike was "my"Monkee, so I should know better! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/8 "2022-08-31T15:44:57Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Thanks for the name correction. Mike was "my"Monkee, so I should know better! I’ve made the same mistake many times, believe me. Anyway, I hope Mickey gets the documents he wants. At this point the FBI shouldn’t be sugarcoating its behaviors of the Vietnam era. 50 years is long enough for the truth to come out. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/9 "2022-08-31T16:20:51Z")
Micky should be able to see it, but I’m curious who decides which FBI docs are made public and which aren’t? I assume it’s a federal judge, and the FBI may try to keep it sealed, if only to protect their sources, assuming they’re still alive. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/10 "2022-08-31T16:24:36Z")
For comparison, [here’s the full report of the FBI investigation into whether _Louie Louie_ was obscene](https://vault.fbi.gov/louie-louie-the-song/louie-louie-the-song) (they decided it wasn’t.) The file is 118 pages thick. The FBI may have been crazy, but at least they were thorough. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/11 "2022-08-31T17:19:55Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Thanks for the name correction. Mike was "my"Monkee, so I should know better! Speaking of Nesmith…it’s going to be ironic if they reveal the documents only to find out that they are heavily redacted with white-out. [http://www.feelnumb.com/2010/03/04/liquid-paper-and-the-monkees/](http://www.feelnumb.com/2010/03/04/liquid-paper-and-the-monkees/) ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/12 "2022-08-31T18:28:25Z")
@Moriarty And Mike was in on the bottom floor of MTV! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/13 "2022-08-31T18:40:49Z")
I hope it’s OK to ask, what’s the point. We already knew that Hoover was nearly insane. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/14 "2022-08-31T18:58:04Z")
Wouldn’t you be curious if it was you? ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/15 "2022-08-31T19:09:16Z")
When I saw the captialization in this thread’s title, I wondered what Levon Helm and Robbie Robinson had done to piss off J. Edgar. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/16 "2022-08-31T19:15:06Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Wouldn’t you be curious if it was you? Agreed – I suspect it’s a combination of (a) a desire to know, and (b) the right to know. I have a hard time believing that there’s any good reason for any of those files to still be redacted or otherwise unavailable. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/17 "2022-08-31T19:15:54Z")
Now I’m wondering if there is a file on _The Princess Bride_. The line about never getting involved in a land war in Asia might be considered pretty subversive to those of a certain mindset. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/18 "2022-08-31T20:03:33Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Robbie Robinson Robbie Robertson? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/19 "2022-08-31T20:09:35Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > When I saw the captialization in this thread’s title, I wondered what Levon Helm and Robbie Robinson had done to piss off J. Edgar. Perhaps “The Weight” was actually about J Edgar Hoover! ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659/20 "2022-08-31T20:47:27Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Robbie Robertson? Yes, and to bring my blooper full circle, I _always_ mix up the names of the Band’s songwriter/guitarist with the [bodybuilding champion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robby_Robinson_(bodybuilder)), who was very familiar with “weights”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-surviving-monkee-sues-to-see-fbi-files-on-the-band/970659.md?page=2)