John Whitehead's Commentary
Neutralizing a Beatle: The Government's Investigation of John Lennon
By early 1964, Beatlemania had taken the world by storm. Unlike their predecessors, the Beatles soon revealed themselves to be more than just entertainers. They were willing to critique and even debunk the past. The defining moment came in 1966 with John Lennon's famous remark: "We're more popular than Jesus Christ right now."
The critical fallout was massive. The Beatles were lambasted as evil, and they received death threats. However, within a year, with the popularity of their album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," the Beatles were back on top.
But by 1968, cracks began to appear in the group's solidarity. Lennon grew disgruntled, longing for a more radical artistic freedom. He divorced his wife and struck out on his own with avant-garde artist Yoko Ono.
By 1969, Lennon had philosophically moved a long way from "I wanna hold your hand." He proclaimed: "You gotta remember, establishment, it's just a name for evil."
The Beatles broke up in 1970. By this time, Lennon had one of the most recognizable faces in the world. And in March of 1971, when his "Power to the People" single was released, John and Yoko were posing for publicity photos, decked out in Japanese riot gear.
With his move to New York City that same year, Lennon was ready to participate in political activism against the American government, the "monster" financing the genocide in Vietnam. By now, Lennon had learned that rock 'n' roll could serve a political end by proclaiming a radical message and mobilizing the public.
Lennon's 1972 "Sometime in New York City" set the stage for conflicts with the government. The album cover depicted Richard Nixon and Chairman Mao dancing together, nude.
Left-wing radicals began congregating at Lennon's West Village apartment, including Abbie Hoffman, "Yippie" Jerry Rubin and Black Panther Bobby Seale. They had fallen under the intruding eye of government agencies such as the FBI because of their shared interest in bringing down the Nixon administration.
Meanwhile, government officials were watching the ex-Beatle they termed "Mr. Lennon." Lennon's phone was tapped, and agents followed him.
Earlier in 1972, Lennon had been served with deportation orders on the grounds of his 1968 marijuana conviction while still in England. What Lennon didn't realize at the time was that President Nixon himself was making moves to have him deported. In fact, as documented in Jon Wiener's "Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files" (University of California Press, 1999), in 1972 FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was reporting to the Nixon White House about the Bureau's surveillance of Lennon.
With "Gimme Some Truth," Lennon's FBI file is now public. The subject of the file is the Nixon administration's efforts to "neutralize" Lennon, a term that carries ominous overtones, although never really defined. The file includes lengthy reports by confidential informants detailing Lennon's daily life, memos to the White House, transcripts of television shows on which Lennon appeared, and a proposal that Lennon be arrested on drug charges.
Nixon's pursuit of Lennon was in large part based on the perception that Lennon and his comrades were planning to disrupt the Republican National Convention in Miami in August of 1972. The authorities' paranoia, however, was misplaced. When Rubin, Hoffman, et al. revealed that they were planning to cause a riot, Lennon balked. "We said, We ain't buying this," Lennon later said. "We're not going to draw children into a situation to create violence so you can overthrow what? And replace it with what? . . . It was all based on this illusion, that you can create violence and overthrow what is, and get communism or get some right-wing lunatic or a left-wing lunatic. They're all lunatics."
In 1976, Lennon won his battle to stay in America. Afterwards, he said: "I have a love for this country. This is where the action is."
In 1980, after about five years of silence, Lennon released "Double Fantasy," his final album.
"You have to give thanks to God, or whatever it is up there, the fact that we all survived," Lennon mused in his final interview on December 8, 1980. "We all survived...but we're still all here, and while there's life there's hope."
When Lennon returned later that night, Mark David Chapman was waiting for him in the shadows at the entrance to the Dakota apartment building. Instead of driving through the passageway, Lennon decided to stop by the sidewalk and greet the fans congregating outside. As he stepped outside the car, Chapman's voice called out, "Mr. Lennon!" Lennon turned and was met by a barrage of gunfire as Chapman--squatting in a combat stance--emptied his .38-calibre pistol and pumped four bullets into Lennon's back and left arm. Lennon stumbled and staggered forward, still clutching the tapes from that evening's studio session. With blood pouring from his mouth and chest, Lennon collapsed to the ground.
John Lennon was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. He had finally been "neutralized."
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The critical fallout was massive. The Beatles were lambasted as evil, and they received death threats. However, within a year, with the popularity of their album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," the Beatles were back on top.
But by 1968, cracks began to appear in the group's solidarity. Lennon grew disgruntled, longing for a more radical artistic freedom. He divorced his wife and struck out on his own with avant-garde artist Yoko Ono.
By 1969, Lennon had philosophically moved a long way from "I wanna hold your hand." He proclaimed: "You gotta remember, establishment, it's just a name for evil."
The Beatles broke up in 1970. By this time, Lennon had one of the most recognizable faces in the world. And in March of 1971, when his "Power to the People" single was released, John and Yoko were posing for publicity photos, decked out in Japanese riot gear.
With his move to New York City that same year, Lennon was ready to participate in political activism against the American government, the "monster" financing the genocide in Vietnam. By now, Lennon had learned that rock 'n' roll could serve a political end by proclaiming a radical message and mobilizing the public.
Lennon's 1972 "Sometime in New York City" set the stage for conflicts with the government. The album cover depicted Richard Nixon and Chairman Mao dancing together, nude.
Left-wing radicals began congregating at Lennon's West Village apartment, including Abbie Hoffman, "Yippie" Jerry Rubin and Black Panther Bobby Seale. They had fallen under the intruding eye of government agencies such as the FBI because of their shared interest in bringing down the Nixon administration.
Meanwhile, government officials were watching the ex-Beatle they termed "Mr. Lennon." Lennon's phone was tapped, and agents followed him.
Earlier in 1972, Lennon had been served with deportation orders on the grounds of his 1968 marijuana conviction while still in England. What Lennon didn't realize at the time was that President Nixon himself was making moves to have him deported. In fact, as documented in Jon Wiener's "Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files" (University of California Press, 1999), in 1972 FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was reporting to the Nixon White House about the Bureau's surveillance of Lennon.
With "Gimme Some Truth," Lennon's FBI file is now public. The subject of the file is the Nixon administration's efforts to "neutralize" Lennon, a term that carries ominous overtones, although never really defined. The file includes lengthy reports by confidential informants detailing Lennon's daily life, memos to the White House, transcripts of television shows on which Lennon appeared, and a proposal that Lennon be arrested on drug charges.
Nixon's pursuit of Lennon was in large part based on the perception that Lennon and his comrades were planning to disrupt the Republican National Convention in Miami in August of 1972. The authorities' paranoia, however, was misplaced. When Rubin, Hoffman, et al. revealed that they were planning to cause a riot, Lennon balked. "We said, We ain't buying this," Lennon later said. "We're not going to draw children into a situation to create violence so you can overthrow what? And replace it with what? . . . It was all based on this illusion, that you can create violence and overthrow what is, and get communism or get some right-wing lunatic or a left-wing lunatic. They're all lunatics."
In 1976, Lennon won his battle to stay in America. Afterwards, he said: "I have a love for this country. This is where the action is."
In 1980, after about five years of silence, Lennon released "Double Fantasy," his final album.
"You have to give thanks to God, or whatever it is up there, the fact that we all survived," Lennon mused in his final interview on December 8, 1980. "We all survived...but we're still all here, and while there's life there's hope."
When Lennon returned later that night, Mark David Chapman was waiting for him in the shadows at the entrance to the Dakota apartment building. Instead of driving through the passageway, Lennon decided to stop by the sidewalk and greet the fans congregating outside. As he stepped outside the car, Chapman's voice called out, "Mr. Lennon!" Lennon turned and was met by a barrage of gunfire as Chapman--squatting in a combat stance--emptied his .38-calibre pistol and pumped four bullets into Lennon's back and left arm. Lennon stumbled and staggered forward, still clutching the tapes from that evening's studio session. With blood pouring from his mouth and chest, Lennon collapsed to the ground.
John Lennon was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. He had finally been "neutralized."
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ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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