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| John Lennon performing at `Free John Sinclair! concert rally in 1971 |
During the 1970's, J. Edgar Hoover's Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] spied on John Lennon, especially during the time when the former Beatles musician and songwriter became more politically active within anti-war Movement counter-cultural circles. As John Parker observed in his 1993 book Elvis: The Secret Files:
"The FBI file on Lennon expanded to over 500 pages of reports, of which, in 1992, only 196 pages were released to me under the Freedom of Information Act. The remainder are still classified [as of 1993], including the whole contents of one file running to 207 pages, which has been retained at FBI headquaters. A further 1,800 pages specifically relating to John Lennon are contained in the archives of the Immigration and Naturalization Services and are not available for public inspection [as of 1993]."
Elvis: The Secret Files also noted:
"...Lennon was spied upon, his phone was tapped, and he was followed at the peak of the [FBI] operation, 24 hours a day...From the moment of Lennon's entry into the United States [in July 1971], his movements were tracked, his television appearances monitored, his songs noted, and his comments taped and recorded for FBI files. Towards the end of the year, Lennon was witnessed as `associating with' a group...which had just renamed itself Election Year Strategy Information Center [EYSIC]...A new and separate Lennon file was opened under the heading: `John Winston Lennon, Revolutionary Activity'..."
A March 16, 1972 memo from then-FBI Director Hoover to all FBI senior agents stated the following:
"Subject: John Winston Lennon
"...A very real possibility exists that subject...might engage in activities in the U.S. leading to the disruption of the Republican National Convention...For this reason...locate subject and remain aware of his activities and movement."
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