Last surviving member of The Monkees is suing FBI

The Monkees singer Micky Dolenz is suing the FBI in an effort to “obtain any records” the agency has on the hit band and its members.

(The Hill) -- The Monkees singer Micky Dolenz is suing the FBI in an effort to “obtain any records” the agency has on the hit band and its members.

A lawsuit filed by Dolenz, the last surviving member of the band, noted the performer had “exhausted all necessary required administrative remedies” after submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to receive the files from the FBI.

Portions of an FBI file on the “I’m a Believer” singers were released in 2011 and included references to anti-Vietnam War rhetoric and “subliminal messages” depicted on a screen at a 1967 Monkees concert that an informant claimed featured “left wing innovations of a political nature.”

The FBI was known to keep tabs on several famous faces during the 1960s and 1970s under then-Director J. Edgar Hoover, including anti-war musicians such as John Lennon and John Denver, among others.  

Dolenz’s attorney, Mark Zaid, told Rolling Stone that the 77-year-old entertainer and the last surviving member of the band had originally submitted a FOIA request in June to obtain the full file from the FBI. The lawsuit was brought after the FBI failed to follow through with the FOIA request within 20 working days, as is legally required, Zaid told the music publication.

Zaid wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that he has been a Monkees fan since the early 1970s, calling it a “pleasure to be representing” Dolenz.

“Why was the FBI monitoring the band back in the late 1960s? We will find out!” Zaid said.