When the FBI Protected a Beatle

As part of its openness policy, the FBI this month showcased its new electronic reading room, known as The Vault, by highlighting recent release of 1970s-era documents the bureau kept on the world-famous musician John Lennon, who at the time was living in New York City.

In their surveillance, the G-Men were concerned mostly with Lennon's activism against the Vietnam war, ties with leftist groups, and sympathy for marijuana users. But at least one action might have benefited the celebrity. In 1978, the FBI probed a series of threatening letters being sent to Lennon and a suspect loitering around Lennon's apartment complex.

Lennon was apparently cooperating, so perhaps was grateful for the help.