Most people wouldn’t consider suing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to be “fun,” but most people are not Micky Dolenz, 77, the last living member of the 1960s sensation The Monkees. Dolenz had heard for years that the FBI created a “secret dossier” about the band, and decided to sue the DOJ to release the files.

Working with attorney and freedom of information expert Mark Zaid, who said in a Rolling Stone interview that he told Dolenz that “it might be fun to see if the FBI had a file on him or his former bandmates,” The Monkees former drummer and singer agreed. Shortly afterward, Zaid discovered that the file exists.

Zaid found a seven-page, heavily redacted version of a partial file on the Monkees from 2011. The dossier misspelled The Monkees as “the Monkeys” and describes them as a “quite successful (band of) four young men who dress as ‘beatnik types’ … geared primarily to the teenage market.”

With Dolenz’s agreement, Zaid submitted a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request for the Monkees, and band members Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork. The Freedom of Information Act gives the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency, such as the FBI.

The FBI did not respond, so Zaid and Dolenz decided to sue the DOJ.

The decade of the 1960s was a hotbed of protests against the Vietnam War and the US government. The FBI infamously tracked and kept secret files about numerous musicians and celebrities who supported ending the Vietnam War. Major celebrities such as Jane Fonda and musical icons such as John Lennon were tracked by the FBI, which eventually led to the former Beatle’s bitter and public fight to remain legally in the US. In 1972, President Richard Nixon tried to deport Lennon because of his songs and work as an activist fighting against the Vietnam War.

Simultaneously, The Monkees were publicly ridiculed by major musical stars of the time, since they were considered the first and largest “manufactured band” to hit both television and radio as a hit show and musical act. Unlike other 1960s bands, The Monkees were the first band to be created for television. Their weekly comedy television show debuted on NBC in 1966 and was a major hit, and millions of teenage girls followed them, buying their records and flocking to their live concerts.

In the redacted partial files on The Monkees, the FBI included information about a government agent who attended a Monkees concert in 1967. The files state that at a Monkees concert, the performances and videos “constituted ‘left-wing innovations of a political nature’ including video footage of ‘anti-US messages on the war in Vietnam’.”

The FBI file continues, saying “The Monkees' concert was using a device in the form of a screen set up behind the performers who played certain instruments and sang as a 'combo.' During the concert, subliminal messages were depicted on the screen which in the opinion of (name redacted), constituted 'left wing innovations of a political nature.' These messages and pictures were flashes of riots in Berkeley, anti-U.S. messages on the war in Vietnam, racial riots in Selma, Alabama, and similar messages which had received unfavorable response from the audience."

Court documents state the FBI secret files, in part, discuss "a 1967 Los Angeles Field Office memorandum on anti-Vietnam war activities and a second document redacted entirely.”

The suit alleges the FBI "maintains responsive records regarding the Monkees, including information that continues to be withheld.”

The FBI has still not released the requested files. On the FBI website, a statement said, “References to the band appear in two places in FBI files: a 1967 Los Angeles Field Office memorandum on anti-Vietnam war activities and a second document redacted entirely.”

However, the FBI by law must comply with Freedom of Information Act requests within 20 working days.

In the court documents, the suit states, “This lawsuit is designed to obtain any records the FBI created and/or possesses on the Monkees as well as its individual members. Mr. Dolenz has exhausted all necessary required administrative remedies with respect to his request.”