“Never in a million years, did we think that promoting World Peace could be dangerous. Were we naive? Yes, on that account, we were. John sings: ‘Nobody told me there’d be days like these.’ That was his true confession,” says Yoko Ono Lennon, “These songs have become relevant all over again. It’s almost as if John wrote these songs for what we are going through now.”

The U.S. vs. John Lennon follows Lennon’s artistic and personal evolution between 1966 and 1976 as he broadened his personal and artistic scope, launching from his Beatles-rooted music legend pedestal into powerful, globally-resonating antiwar and social justice activism. As the Vietnam war exploded and America’s youth was increasingly under attack at home for expressing its discontent, Lennon’s counter-cultural activities were increasingly monitored by the FBI on behalf of President Richard Nixon’s administration (Nixon himself was briefed on Lennon’s activities). The film, through its captivating exploration of the government’s ongoing efforts to silence John Lennon, also clearly illustrates certain parallels to today’s political landscape, through insightful interviews with those who knew him best.