text: why did the fbi keep files on john lennon and  martin luther king jr.? why would the fbi want to keep files on john lennon and mlk jr.? what kind of threat did j. edgar hoover feel that both of them might have been to our country? or was it that they were both 'radicals' to j. edgar and the government? i'd bet anything that nixon thought lennon was 'subversive' he was so paranoid! hoover had files on practically everybody.  he considered everybody to be a potential communist.