A Complete Unknown
Warning: This article contains spoilers for A Complete Unknown!
The FBI searched through his educational and employment history.
The 2024 Bob Dylan biopic ends on a bittersweet note with a spectacular finale and some tender moments.
The fact that Pete Seeger was engaged to a Japanese-American woman named Toshi Ohta increased suspicions about the singer.
Despite multiple individuals vouching for Seegers trustworthiness and loyalty, the FBI continued to treat him as a threat.
They even refused to deploy him despite his completing the aviation mechanic training.
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They asked him about his performance at three events with ties to the communist party.
He was also asked whether he performed as a service of the communist party.
They strongly implied through their phrasing that Seeger was a Communist enemy of the United States.
I would be very glad to tell you my life if you want to hear of it…
I love my country very deeply, sir… That is the only answer I can give along that line.
These moments are briefly referenced in the 2024 biopic, althoughA Complete Unknownchangesthe song from Wasnt That A Time.
It also leaves out most of the context of the trial.
They were only to decide whether Seeger provided a good-faith response, rather than trying to be defiant.
The jury deliberated for one and a half hours.
Adjusted for inflation, this equals $21,181.54 bail, pending an appeal.
Pete Seeger’s entire statement from the conclusion of his trial can be read here:Northwestern University Libraries.
After the appeals court overturned his conviction, the charges were dropped.
As shown in the movie, Seegers political activism didnt cease after the trial.
