More than two decades after his death, John Lennon is apparently still a threat to national security–or so the FBI still contends.
The enemies-obsessed Nixon government, along with the rest of the country, took notice. According to Wiener, there is a 288-page file on Lennon in the FBI’s "domestic security" section, of which 199 pages are still classified "in the interests of defense of foreign policy."
Among the top-secret revelations: Lennon hung out with, yes, a subversive parrot (actually, the bird belonged to one of Lennon’s activist buddies who trained the parrot to squawk, "Right on!" during political debates).
As oft mentioned here, satire is getting SO hard to do…
Lennon wanted to do a political Woodstock-like tour in the spring of 1972. "Nixon got wind of it," says Wiener, "and ordered Lennon deported." As a result, Lennon was only able to perform one show of his proposed tour.
Nixon wanted no mouthing of subversive, radical slogans like "Give peace a chance."
The legendary Fugs, it should be noted, set the wording in FBI intelligence reports on Lennon to music in their wondrous song, "Perpitude."