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The United Federated Forces of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was a small, American far-left organization active between 1973 and 1975; it claimed to be a vanguard movement. The FBI and American law enforcement considered the SLA to be the first terrorist organization to rise from the American left. Six members died in a May 1974 shootout with police in Los Angeles. The three remaining fugitives recruited a few new members, but nearly all of them were apprehended in 1975 and prosecuted. The pursuit and prosecution of SLA members lasted until 2003, when former member Sara Jane Olson, another fugitive, was convicted and sentenced for second-degree murder during the SLA 1975 bank robbery in
Carmichael, California Carmichael is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area. The population was 79,793 at the 2020 census. Geography and geology Carmichael is located a ...
. During its active years from 1973 to 1975, the group murdered at least two people, committed armed bank robberies, and attempted bombings, among other violent crimes. Its spokesman was escaped convict
Donald DeFreeze Donald David DeFreeze (November 16, 1943 – May 17, 1974), also known as Cinque Mtume and using the nom de guerre "General Field Marshal Cinque", was known as the "spokesman" of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a small, American far-left gro ...
, but
Patricia Soltysik Patricia Monique Soltysik (May 17, 1950 – May 17, 1974) was an American woman who was best known as a co-founder and activist in the Symbionese Liberation Army, a far-left militant group based in Berkeley and Oakland, California. She participat ...
and
Nancy Ling Perry Nancy Ling Perry (September 19, 1947 – May 17, 1974, born Nancy Ling) was also known as Nancy Devoto, Lynn Ledworth, and Fahizah while a founding member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a small leftist terrorist group based in northe ...
, young, middle-class women, were believed to share the leadership. The SLA's first notorious act was the assassination of
Marcus Foster Marcus Aurelius Foster (March 31, 1923 – November 6, 1973) was an American educator who gained a national reputation for educational excellence while serving as principal of Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1966–1969) ...
, the black Superintendent of Oakland Public Schools, and wounding of his deputy Robert Blackburn in November 1973. The SLA had misunderstood issues in Oakland, and this murder alienated leftists and many in the black community, who admired Foster for his work. In January 1974 two members, Russell Little and Joseph Remiro were arrested and charged with the murder. They were convicted in 1975 and sentenced to life in prison. Little was later retried on appeal, acquitted, and released. In February 1974 the SLA became internationally known for kidnapping heiress
Patty Hearst Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was found a ...
, then a student at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...
. About two months later Hearst released taped messages announcing that she had joined the SLA. In April 1974 the SLA committed armed robbery of a bank in San Francisco. They split up after that. In May 1974 six founding members died at a house in Los Angeles, the result of a shootout with the LAPD and a fire at the house.
Emily Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...
and William Harris, a married couple who were founding members, remained at large as fugitives with Hearst. Claiming to lead the SLA, they later picked up a few more members and committed more crimes, including the 1975 armed robbery of a bank in
Carmichael, California Carmichael is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area. The population was 79,793 at the 2020 census. Geography and geology Carmichael is located a ...
, in which a customer was killed. Most were apprehended in 1975 and brought to trial; most accepted plea deals and served several years in prison. As of 2017, all but one of the surviving SLA members have been released from prison. Joe Remiro remains incarcerated. Little said that Soltysik, Perry, and DeFreeze were the ones who shot Foster and Blackburn. They died in the 1974 shootout in Los Angeles.


Beliefs and symbols

In their manifesto "Symbionese Liberation Army Declaration of Revolutionary War & the Symbionese Program", co-founders
Donald DeFreeze Donald David DeFreeze (November 16, 1943 – May 17, 1974), also known as Cinque Mtume and using the nom de guerre "General Field Marshal Cinque", was known as the "spokesman" of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a small, American far-left gro ...
and Patricia "Mizmoon" Soltysik wrote: "The name 'symbionese' is taken from the word ''
symbiosis Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasi ...
'' and we define its meaning as a body of dissimilar bodies and organisms living in deep and loving harmony and partnership in the best interest of all within the body." They intended the political symbiosis to encompass the unity of all left-wing struggles: feminist, anti-racist, anti-capitalist, and others. They wanted all races, genders, and ages to fight together in a left-wing
united front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political a ...
, and to live together peacefully. The SLA are widely regarded by American law enforcement as the first domestic terrorist group to rise on the political left. The group had a majority of white members from the beginning. After
Thero Wheeler Thero Lavon Wheeler (1945–2009), aka Bruce Bradley while a fugitive (1973-1975), was a founding member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, an American left-wing organization in the San Francisco Bay area. He left the group in October 1973 as he o ...
left in October 1973, over disagreements with DeFreeze and others about plans for violence, DeFreeze was the SLA's only black member. Joe Remiro was
Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...
, described as white in a February 1974 article in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. He had been active for a period in Venceremos, a Chicano radical organization. The group adopted a seven-headed SLA hydra-like cobra symbol to represent the seven principles of Kwanzaa. The Swahili words for these seven principles are: ''Umoja'' (unity), ''Kujichagulia'' (self-determination), ''Ujima'' (collective work and responsibility), ''Ujamaa'' (cooperative economics), ''Nia'' (purpose), ''Kuumba'' (creativity) and ''Imani'' (faith). The SLA featured an image of a seven-headed cobra on their publications. (In 2004, a university in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
published a paper suggesting that the cobra image was copied from the ancient
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n seven-headed
nāga The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...
. Carved stones depicting a seven-headed cobra are commonly found near the sluices of the ancient
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been develo ...
tanks in Sri Lanka and are believed to have been placed there as guardians of the water.)


Background and formation


Prison visits

The SLA formed from people who met in the course of prison visitation programs associated with the radical left-wing group
Venceremos Organization Venceremos ( Spanish for "We will be victorious") was an American far-left and primarily Chicano political group active in the Palo Alto, California area from 1969 to 1973. History Katerina Del Valle was its chairperson. In 1971 they were jo ...
, active in the
Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was esta ...
area, and the
Black Cultural Association The Black Cultural Association (BCA) was an African-American inmate group founded in 1968 at the California Medical Facility at Vacaville, a California state prison, and formally recognized by prison officials in 1969. The primary purpose of the ...
in
Vacaville Prison Two prisons are located in Vacaville, California, United States: * California Medical Facility (CMF) () * California State Prison, Solano () These two prisons are located together at the base of several hills on the outskirts of Vacaville. Th ...
, about 45 miles from Berkeley. Student volunteers from
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...
, some recruited by grad student and professor
Colston Westbrook Colston Richard Westbrook (1937–1989) was an American teacher and linguist who worked in the fields of minority education and literacy. At the University of California, Berkeley, he established a program of prison outreach and approved students ...
from his classes in African-American linguistics, were encouraged to conduct prisoner outreach at Vacaville. Initiated in 1969 by black inmates, the program was intended to help educate inmates in a variety of classes and prepare them for life after prison. It also sponsored cultural events that were open to community attendees. This program attracted chiefly white student activists, including radicals who promoted discussions of political and social justice issues. The idea of a South-American–style
urban guerrilla An urban guerrilla is someone who fights a government using unconventional warfare or domestic terrorism in an urban environment. Theory and history The urban guerrilla phenomenon is essentially one of industrialised society, resting both ...
movement, similar to the
Tupamaros The Tupamaros – National Liberation Movement ( es, Movimiento de Liberación Nacional – Tupamaros, MLN-T), widely known as Tupamaros, was a Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group in Uruguay in the 1960s and 1970s. The MLN-T is inextricab ...
movement in
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, combined with
Régis Debray Jules Régis Debray (; born 2 September 1940) is a French philosopher, journalist, former government official and academic. He is known for his theorization of mediology, a critical theory of the long-term transmission of cultural meaning in h ...
's theory of
urban warfare Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and city, cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban war ...
and ideas drawn from
Maoism Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...
, appealed to a number of people, including Patricia Michelle Soltysik (''alias'' "Mizmoon").


DeFreeze escapes prison

The SLA formed after the escape from prison by
Donald DeFreeze Donald David DeFreeze (November 16, 1943 – May 17, 1974), also known as Cinque Mtume and using the nom de guerre "General Field Marshal Cinque", was known as the "spokesman" of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a small, American far-left gro ...
, who took the name "General Field Marshal Cinque". He had been serving five years to life for robbing a
prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
. DeFreeze took the name Cinque from the leader of the
slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
rebellion which took over the
slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast i ...
''Amistad'' in 1839. DeFreeze escaped from Soledad State Prison on March 5, 1973, by walking away while on work duty in a boiler room located outside the perimeter fence. DeFreeze has been accused by some sources of being an informant from 1967 to 1969 for the Public Disorder Intelligence Unit of the
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-larges ...
. DeFreeze had been active in the
Black Cultural Association The Black Cultural Association (BCA) was an African-American inmate group founded in 1968 at the California Medical Facility at Vacaville, a California state prison, and formally recognized by prison officials in 1969. The primary purpose of the ...
while at the
California Medical Facility California Medical Facility (CMF) is a male-only state prison medical facility located in the city of Vacaville, Solano County, California. It is older than California State Prison, Solano, the other state prison in Vacaville. Facilities C ...
, a state prison facility in
Vacaville Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it th ...
, California, where he had made contacts with members of Venceremos. He sought refuge among these contacts, and ended up at a commune known as Peking House in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gover ...
. Venceremos associates and future SLA members
Willie Wolfe William Lawton Wolfe (February 17, 1951 – May 17, 1974) was one of the founding members in 1972 of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), an American radical group based near Oakland, California. While in the group, he adopted the name "Kahjoh", ...
and Russell Little, concerned with the potential for exposure through surveillance at the high-profile Peking House, arranged for DeFreeze to move in with their associate Soltysik to the relative anonymity of Concord, California. DeFreeze and Soltysik became lovers and began to outline the plans for founding the "Symbionese Nation".


Murder of Marcus Foster

On November 6, 1973, in
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...
, California, two members of the SLA killed school superintendent
Marcus Foster Marcus Aurelius Foster (March 31, 1923 – November 6, 1973) was an American educator who gained a national reputation for educational excellence while serving as principal of Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1966–1969) ...
and badly wounded his deputy, Robert Blackburn, as the two men left an Oakland school board meeting. The
hollow-point bullet upright=0.2, Cross-section of a hollow-point bullet; proportions are those of a .22 Long Rifle cartridge Jacketed soft point (JSP) round. Right: Jacketed hollow-point (JHP) round. JSP is a semi-jacketed round as the jacket does not extend to ...
s used to kill Foster had been packed with
cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a ...
. Although Foster had been the first black school superintendent of any major public school system, the SLA condemned him in their flyers for his supposed plan to introduce identification cards into Oakland schools, calling him "fascist". But Foster had already gained support by the School Board to change the proposal. Some SLA members had mistakenly believed that killing Foster would gain support for them in the black community; instead they alienated most blacks and other leftists by this crime. Harry Reynolds, a deputy superintendent in the system, said those who published the flyers had “irresponsible flapping at the mouth.” In addition, he said "somebody didn't like this guy bringing all these people together. They may have been jealous of the type of progress he was making.” Blackburn later discussed how off base the SLA was. "These were not political radicals," Blackburn said of the SLA. "They were uniquely mediocre and stunningly off-base. The people in the SLA had no grounding in history. They swung from the world of being thumb-in-the-mouth cheerleaders to self-described revolutionaries with nothing but rhetoric to support them." On January 10, 1974, Russell Little and Joseph Remiro, other SLA founding members, were arrested and charged with Foster's murder. Both men were convicted of murder in 1975 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Seven years later, on June 5, 1981, Little's conviction was overturned by the California Court of Appeal, and he was later acquitted in a retrial in Monterey County. Remiro remains incarcerated; his eleven parole requests have been rejected. Little later said that Soltysik had shot Foster, and Perry had shot Blackburn, aided by DeFreeze.


Kidnapping of Patty Hearst

After Remiro and Little were arrested, the SLA considered kidnapping an important figure in order to negotiate the release of their imprisoned members.Documentary: ''Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst'', directed by Robert Stone, 2004. The US
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
(FBI) found documents at one abandoned
safe house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is, in a generic sense, a secret place for sanctuary or suitable to hide people from the law, hostile actors or actions, or from retribution, threats or perceived danger. It may also be a metaphor. Histori ...
revealing an action was planned for the "full moon of January 7". The FBI did not take any precautions, and the SLA did not act until a month later. On February 4, 1974, publishing heiress Patty Hearst, a sophomore at the
University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...
, was abducted from her Berkeley residence at Apartment 4, 2603 Benvenue Avenue. This was less than three months after a November 1973 ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...
'' story announcing the Hearst–Steven Weed betrothal. Their address had been published. The SLA choice of Hearst was for maximum news coverage of their action.''Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst''
.
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...
. Retrieved on January 21, 2007.
The SLA issued an ultimatum to the Hearst family, namely, that they would release Patty in exchange for the freedom of Remiro and Little. Law enforcement rejected this. The SLA demanded a ransom from the Hearsts, in the form of a food distribution program. The value of food to be distributed fluctuated: on February 23 the demand was for $4 million; it peaked at $400 million. Although free food was distributed, the operation was halted when violence erupted at one of the four distribution points. The crowds were much greater than expected, and people were injured as panicked workers threw boxes of food off moving trucks into the crowd. After the SLA demanded that a community coalition called the Western Addition Project Area Committee be put in charge of food distribution, it organized the distribution of 100,000 bags of groceries at 16 locations across four counties between February 26 and the end of March.


Conditions of the initial captivity of Patty Hearst

The FBI conducted an unsuccessful search as the SLA took refuge in a number of safe houses. Hearst later claimed she was subjected to a series of ordeals while in SLA captivity that her mother would later describe as "brainwashing". The change in Hearst's politics has been attributed to
Stockholm syndrome Stockholm syndrome is a condition in which hostages develop a psychological bond with their captors. It is supposed to result from a rather specific set of circumstances, namely the power imbalances contained in hostage-taking, kidnapping, and ...
, a psychological response in which a hostage exhibits apparent loyalty to the abductor. Hearst was later examined by specialist psychologist
Margaret Singer Margaret Thaler Singer (July 29, 1921 – November 23, 2003) was an American clinical psychologist and researcher with her colleague Lyman Wynne on family communication. She was a prominent figure in the study of undue influence in social and ...
, who came to the same conclusion.
Terence Hallinan Terence Hallinan (December 4, 1936 – January 17, 2020) was an American attorney and politician from San Francisco, California. He was the second of six sons born to Progressive Party presidential candidate Vincent Hallinan and his wife, Vivi ...
, the first attorney who represented her, was planning to argue involuntary intoxication, a side effect of which is amnesia. Hearst's attorney
F. Lee Bailey Francis Lee Bailey Jr. (June 10, 1933 – June 3, 2021) was an American criminal defense attorney. Bailey's name first came to nationwide attention for his involvement in the second murder trial of Sam Sheppard, a surgeon accused of murdering ...
used the Stockholm syndrome argument as part of the defense at trial. During Hearst's subsequent trial, her lawyer claimed that she had been confined in a closet barely large enough for her to lie down in; that her contact with the outside world was regulated by her captors; and that she was regularly threatened with execution. Hearst's lawyer contended that she had been raped by DeFreeze and Wolfe. Both died before Hearst's capture and trial. The SLA claimed to be holding Hearst according to the conditions of the
Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
. The SLA subjected Hearst to indoctrination in SLA ideology. In Hearst's taped recordings, used to announce demands and conditions, on day thirteen of her capture, Hearst can be heard extemporaneously expressing SLA ideology. With each successive taped communiqué, as the group called them, Hearst expressed increasing support for the aims of the SLA. She eventually denounced her former life, her parents, and fiancé. She later claimed that at that point, when the SLA had ostensibly given her the option of being released or joining the SLA, she had believed she would be killed if she turned them down. She began using the
nom de guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
"Tania", after
Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
's associate " Tania the Guerilla".


SLA actions while Hearst was a member


Hibernia Bank robbery

The SLA's next action was the armed robbery of the Hibernia Bank branch at 1450 Noriega Street in San Francisco, on April 15, 1974, as the group needed money. Two people were shot and wounded. At 10:00 a.m. that morning, three armed SLA members rushed into the bank, including Hearst holding a rifle. Security camera footage of Hearst was carried internationally. In her memoir, ''Every Secret Thing'', she denied having participated willingly in the robbery and said she was threatened by other members. The group got away with more than $10,000 in the robbery. (Hearst later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges related to this. After two years in prison, President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...
commuted the remainder of her sentence. President Bill Clinton gave her an official pardon.)


Move to Los Angeles and police shootout

The SLA believed it had to recruit new members and recognized that it had alienated the radical community in the Bay Area by assassinating Marcus Foster. Cinque suggested moving the organization to his former neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles, where he had friends who they might recruit. The SLA had difficulty getting established there. They relied on commandeering housing and supplies, generating resentment among the people who protected their secrecy and security. At this stage, SLA member Russell Little, who was being held in jail pending a trial, said that he believed the SLA had entirely lost sight of its goals. He believed they got sidetracked into a confrontation with the Los Angeles Police Department rather than educating the public in a political dialogue. On May 16, 1974, William and Emily Harris entered Mel's Sporting Goods Store in the Los Angeles suburb of
Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The ...
, to shop for supplies. While Emily made the purchases, Bill decided to shoplift a bandolier. When a security guard confronted him, Bill Harris brandished a revolver. The guard knocked the gun out of his hand and handcuffed William's left wrist. Hearst, on armed lookout from the group's van across the street, began shooting at the store's overhead sign. Everyone in the store but the Harrises took cover, and the couple fled the store, jumping into the van and escaping with Hearst. The SLA abandoned the van, but because of the shoplifting and shooting, police examined the vehicle and found a parking ticket with their new safe house address on it. The rest of the SLA fled that house after seeing news coverage of the shooting at the sports shop. The SLA took over a house occupied by Christine Johnson and Minnie Lewisin, at 1466 East 54th Street. Among those in the house at the time was a 17-year-old neighbor named Brenda Daniels, who was sleeping on the couch. Daniels recalls the events that night: The next day, an anonymous phone call to the
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-larges ...
(LAPD) said that several heavily armed people were staying at the caller's daughter's house. That afternoon, more than 400 LAPD officers, under the command of Captain Mervin King, along with FBI agents,
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
(LASD),
California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enforce ...
(CHP), and
Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides emergency medical services, fire cause determination, fire prevention, fire suppression, hazardous materials mitigation, and technical rescue services to the city of Los Angeles ...
(LAFD), surrounded the neighborhood. The leader of a
SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
team used a bullhorn to announce, "Occupants of 1466 East 54th Street, this is the Los Angeles Police Department speaking. Come out with your hands up!" A young child walked out, along with an older man. The man said that no one else was in the house, but the child intervened, saying there were several people and they had guns and ammunition. After several more attempts to get people to leave the house, a member of the SWAT team fired
tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...
projectiles into the structure. SLA members responded with bursts of automatic gunfire, and a violent gun battle began. The police were firing semi-automatic
AR-15 An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporatio ...
and AR-180 rifles. The SLA members were armed with
M1 Carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...
s that had been converted to fully automatic fire. Police also reported that the SLA had made homemade grenades from 35 mm film canisters, and had thrown them at responding officers. During the shootout, police continued to fire dozens of tear gas grenades into the house, attempting to force out the SLA members. About two hours into the shootout, the house caught fire, probably due to an exploding tear gas canister. As the house began to burn, two women left from the rear and one came out to the front (she had come in drunk the previous night, passed out, and woken up in the middle of the siege); all were taken into custody, but were found not to be SLA members. Automatic weapons fire continued from the house. At this point, Nancy Ling Perry and Camilla Hall came out of the house. Police later said they fatally shot Hall in the head as she aimed a weapon toward them; Perry was shooting at them, and they shot her twice.Bryan, John
''This Soldier Still at War''
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975. .
After Hall fell to the ground, Atwood pulled her body back into the house. Perry's body remained outside the house. The rest died inside, from smoke inhalation, burns and gunshot wounds. The coroner's report concluded that Donald DeFreeze committed suicide by shooting himself in the side of the head. Atwood, Willie Wolfe, and Patricia Soltysik died of smoke inhalation and burns. After the shooting stopped and the fire was extinguished, police recovered 19 firearms—including rifles, pistols, and shotguns. It was one of the largest police shootouts in U.S. history with a reported total of over 9,000 rounds being fired (4,000 by the SLA and 5,000 by police). There were no casualties among law enforcement, firefighters, or civilians outside the house. The SLA leadership was decimated: Donald DeFreeze (General Cinque), Patricia Soltysik (Mizmoon or Zoya) and Nancy Ling Perry had all died. The other dead were also founding members: Angela Atwood ("General Gelina"), Camilla Hall ("Gabi"), and
Willie Wolfe William Lawton Wolfe (February 17, 1951 – May 17, 1974) was one of the founding members in 1972 of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), an American radical group based near Oakland, California. While in the group, he adopted the name "Kahjoh", ...
("Kahjoh", misspelled by the media at the time as "Cujo"),''The Voices of Guns'', p. 286. Perry's body was outside, but the others were all found in a crawl space under the house, which had burned down around them. Area TV stations all covered the shootout and conflagration. They took advantage of new broadcasting technology, such as smaller portable cameras that made their mobile units more nimble. Holed up in a hotel in
Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
the Harrises and Hearst watched the siege and destruction live from their room.


Return to the Bay Area

Those three returned to the relative safety of the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gover ...
and protection of student radical households. They gradually acquired some new members. By early the next year, Bill and Emily Harris were leaders. Other members were Patty Hearst,
Wendy Yoshimura Wendy Masako Yoshimura (born January 17, 1943) is an American still life watercolor painter. She is known for her involvement with the leftist terrorist group, Symbionese Liberation Army, during the mid-1970s. She was born in Manzanar, one of ...
, siblings Steve and Kathleen Soliah, Kathleen's boyfriend James Kilgore, and Michael Bortin. Except for the
Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...
Yoshimura, who was born at an internment camp during World War II, all the new members were white.


Crocker Bank robbery

On April 21, 1975, the SLA members conducted an armed robbery of the
Crocker National Bank Crocker National Bank was a United States bank headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was acquired by and merged into Wells Fargo Bank in 1986. History The bank traces its history to the Woolworth National Bank in San Francisco. Charle ...
branch in
Carmichael, California Carmichael is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area. The population was 79,793 at the 2020 census. Geography and geology Carmichael is located a ...
, in the Sacramento area. During the robbery, Emily Harris discharged her shotgun and accidentally shot and killed customer Myrna Lee Opsahl, a 42-year-old mother of four children. Five SLA members were ultimately charged in this murder and robbery. Four pleaded guilty to reduced charges in early 2002.


Hearst capture, trial and conviction

After a long and highly publicized search, Hearst was captured on September 18, 1975, along with the Harrises, Steven Soliah, and Yoshimura; they had been found in San Francisco safe houses. In Hearst's arrest affidavit, she claimed that SLA members had used
LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
to drug her and had forced her to take part in the bank raid. She was convicted of the Hibernia Bank robbery and sentenced to seven years in prison. After she had been in prison for 21 months, US President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...
commuted the sentence to time served. She was pardoned by President Bill Clinton. The Harrises were convicted for their part in the Hearst kidnapping and spent eight years in prison. Police allegedly consulted
psychics A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...
in searching for Hearst. On February 26, 1976, a Los Angeles county grand jury indicted Kathleen Ann Soliah on explosives and conspiracy charges. She was accused of planting pipe bombs under two LAPD squad cars in August 1975, intending to kill police officers in retaliation for the six SLA members who died in the May 17, 1974 shootout. The devices did not detonate. Soliah went on the run, moving to
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. She lived as a fugitive for 21 years, changing her name and creating a new upper-middle-class life under the alias Sara Jane Olson. She married a doctor and they had three daughters. The FBI arrested Soliah/Olson in 1999 after a tip was received by the television show ''
America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American Television show, television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Entertainment#Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Alter ...
'', which had twice aired her profile. She was prosecuted in Los Angeles by its deputy district attorneys. Before going to trial in 2001, she pleaded guilty to possession of explosives with the intent to murder and was sentenced to two consecutive terms of ten years to life. In negotiation of the plea bargain, she had been told that she would serve no more than eight years. She attempted to change her plea, telling the judge that she had pleaded guilty only because she believed she could not receive a fair trial for bombing charges after the
9/11 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
. She said that she was innocent of the making, possessing, or placing of the pipe bombs. The judge refused her request. The Opsahl murder/Crocker bank robbery
cold case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...
was finally pursued due to new evidence developed through the efforts of the Los Angeles deputy district attorneys, who had prosecuted Olson. On January 16, 2002, first-degree murder charges for the killing of Myrna Opsahl were filed against Sara Jane Olson, Emily Harris, William Harris, Michael Bortin, and James Kilgore in Sacramento. All were living "above ground" and were quickly arrested except for Kilgore. He had been living in South Africa and remained at large for nearly another year. On November 7, 2002, Olson, the Harrises, and Bortin pleaded guilty to reduced second-degree murder charges. The Harrises had divorced and Emily took back her surname of Montague. She admitted to holding the murder weapon but said that the shotgun had gone off accidentally. Hearst had earlier said that Montague had dismissed the murder at the time saying, "She was a bourgeois pig anyway. Her husband is a doctor." In court, Montague denied having said this. She added, "I do not want he Opsahl familyto believe that we ever considered her life insignificant." Sentences were handed down on February 14, 2003, in Sacramento for the four defendants in the Opsahl murder case. Montague was sentenced to eight years for second degree murder. Her former husband, William Harris, was sentenced to seven years, and Bortin to six years. Olson was sentenced to six years, adding two consecutively to the 14-year sentence she had already received. All sentences were the maximum allowed under their plea bargains. On November 8, 2002, James Kilgore was arrested in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
after having been a fugitive since 1975. He was extradited to the United States to face federal explosives and passport fraud charges. Prosecutors alleged that a pipe bomb had been found in Kilgore's apartment in 1975 and that he had obtained a passport under a false name. He pleaded guilty to the charges in 2003. Sara Jane Olson was expecting to receive a sentence of 5 years and 4 months, but "in stiffening Olson's sentence ..., the prison board turned to a seldom-used section of state law, allowing it to recalculate sentences for old crimes in light of new, tougher sentencing guidelines." Olson was sentenced to 14 years— later reduced to 13 years—plus six years for her role in the Opsahl killing. Hearst had immunity because she was a state's witness. But the plea bargains meant that no trial was held, and she never testified on this case. On April 26, 2004, Kilgore was sentenced to 54 months in prison for the explosives and passport fraud charges. He was the last remaining SLA member to face federal prosecution. After serving six years of her prison sentence, Sarah Jane Olson was released on
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
. She reunited with her family in California on March 17, 2008. But after a discovery that her release was premature because of a clerical error, she was arrested at
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the ...
and notified that her right to travel out of state had been rescinded. She was returned to prison for a year. On March 17, 2009, Sarah Olson was released after serving seven years of her 14-year sentence. She was to check in with her parole officer in Los Angeles where it would be determined if she would be allowed to serve her parole in
St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, with her husband and three daughters. Several officials, including the Governor of Minnesota, urged that she serve her parole in California, but she was finally allowed to return to Minnesota and serve it there. On May 10, 2009, James Kilgore was released from prison in California. As of 2016, founding member Joseph Remiro remains incarcerated, serving a life sentence for the murder of
Marcus Foster Marcus Aurelius Foster (March 31, 1923 – November 6, 1973) was an American educator who gained a national reputation for educational excellence while serving as principal of Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1966–1969) ...
. He is the only SLA member still in prison and was up for parole in 2019.


Known members


Founding members

* Russell Little (SLA pseudonym ''Osceola'' or ''Osi''), arrested for the shooting of Marcus Foster. Little was in custody during the time when Patty Hearst was with the SLA. Little was sentenced to life in prison in April 1975, but in 1981 he was retried and acquitted of the Foster murder. He now lives in Hawaii. * Joseph Remiro (''Bo''), arrested with Russell Little. Little and Remiro were the prisoners whom the SLA intended to swap for Hearst. Remiro was sentenced to life in prison in April 1975. He is serving the sentence at
Pelican Bay State Prison Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP) is a supermax prison facility in Crescent City, California. The prison takes its name from a shallow bay on the Pacific coast, about to the west. Facilities The prison is located in a detached section of Cr ...
,
Crescent City, California Crescent City (Tolowa: ''Taa-’at-dvn''; Yurok: ''Kohpey''; Wiyot: ''Daluwagh'') is the only incorporated city in Del Norte County, California; it is also the county seat. Named for the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach south of the city, ...
. He is the only member of the SLA still in prison. *
Donald DeFreeze Donald David DeFreeze (November 16, 1943 – May 17, 1974), also known as Cinque Mtume and using the nom de guerre "General Field Marshal Cinque", was known as the "spokesman" of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a small, American far-left gro ...
(''General Field Marshal Cinque Mtume''), an escaped prisoner, committed suicide during a police shootout on May 17, 1974 * William (Willie) Wolfe (''Kahjoh''), killed in police shootout on May 17, 1974 *
Thero Wheeler Thero Lavon Wheeler (1945–2009), aka Bruce Bradley while a fugitive (1973-1975), was a founding member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, an American left-wing organization in the San Francisco Bay area. He left the group in October 1973 as he o ...
(''Bayo''), left the SLA after receiving death threats from DeFreeze *
Mary Alice Siem Mary Alice Siem was a student at the University of California, Berkeley when she became involved in 1973 with a prisoner outreach program at Vacaville Prison. She became the girlfriend of Thero Wheeler, an inmate who escaped in August 1973. He was ...
, left the SLA after receiving death threats from DeFreeze *
Angela Atwood Angela DeAngelis Atwood (February 6, 1949 – May 17, 1974), also known as General Gelina, was a founding member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), an American terrorist group which kidnapped Patricia Hearst and robbed banks. She was ki ...
(''General Gelina''), killed in police shootout on May 17, 1974 *
Patricia Soltysik Patricia Monique Soltysik (May 17, 1950 – May 17, 1974) was an American woman who was best known as a co-founder and activist in the Symbionese Liberation Army, a far-left militant group based in Berkeley and Oakland, California. She participat ...
, ''alias'' Mizmoon Soltysik (''Zoya''), killed in police shootout on May 17, 1974 * Camilla Hall (''Gabi''), Soltysik's lover, killed in police shootout on May 17, 1974 *
Nancy Ling Perry Nancy Ling Perry (September 19, 1947 – May 17, 1974, born Nancy Ling) was also known as Nancy Devoto, Lynn Ledworth, and Fahizah while a founding member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a small leftist terrorist group based in northe ...
(''Fahizah''), killed in police shootout on May 17, 1974 *
Emily Harris Emily Harris (born February 11, 1947 as Emily Montague Schwartz) was, along with her husband William Harris (1945–), a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), an American left-wing terrorist group involved in murder, kidnapping, and ...
(''Yolanda''), imprisoned for kidnapping and murder, paroled in February, 2007. * William Harris (''General Teko''), Emily Harris' husband, and eventual leader of the SLA, imprisoned for kidnapping and murder, paroled in September, 2006.


Later members (after the Hearst kidnapping)

*
Patty Hearst Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was found a ...
("Tania"), kidnapped and became a member of SLA. Arrested in 1975 and imprisoned for robbery, released in 1979, pardoned in 2001. *
Wendy Yoshimura Wendy Masako Yoshimura (born January 17, 1943) is an American still life watercolor painter. She is known for her involvement with the leftist terrorist group, Symbionese Liberation Army, during the mid-1970s. She was born in Manzanar, one of ...
, former member of the
Revolutionary Army In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
, a violent activist group, with her friend Willie Brandt, imprisoned for robbery and murder, later released. * Kathleen Ann Soliah, (alias Sara Jane Olson) a friend of Atwood. Soliah became involved when approached by the SLA after her friend's death in the May 17th shootout. She was imprisoned for explosives, robbery and murder, and was released in 2009. * Jim (James) Kilgore, Kathleen Soliah's boyfriend at the time, currently a research scholar at the Center for African Studies at the University of Illinois. * Steven Soliah, Kathleen Soliah's brother. * Michael Bortin, married to Josephine Soliah, circa 2002.


Associates and sympathizers

* Josephine Soliah, Kathleen Soliah's sister * Bonnie Jean Wilder, Seanna, Sally (a friend of Remiro's), and Bridget. All are mentioned in Hearst's book '' Every Secret Thing'' as potential members. * Micki and Jack Scott. Rented a farmhouse in Pennsylvania. Jack Scott participated in the transportation of SLA members to different parts of the US, including his farmhouse. His reason for sheltering them was for writing a book on them. Scott, the sports editor for the radical magazine '' Ramparts,'' died in 2000.


In the media

The SLA distributed photographs, news releases and radio-quality taped interviews in which they explained their past activities to the press. The Bay Area Research Collective was formed as an above-ground support group for the SLA, and distributed a mimeographed newsletter, ''The Dragon''. Since that time the SLA's activities have been covered in other ways in the media. These include films and television shows, such as: * ''
Abduction Abduction may refer to: Media Film and television * "Abduction" (''The Outer Limits''), a 2001 television episode * " Abduction" (''Death Note'') a Japanese animation television series * " Abductions" (''Totally Spies!''), a 2002 episode of an ...
'' (1975), directed by
Joseph Zito Joseph Zito (born May 14, 1946) is an American film director and producer, best known for directing several cult and genre films throughout the 1980s, such as '' Missing in Action'', '' Invasion U.S.A.'', '' Red Scorpion'', '' The Prowler'', an ...
(based on ''Black Abductors'' by Harrison James) * ''
Tanya Tanya may refer to: * Tanya (Judaism),an early work of Hasidic philosophy by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. * Tanya (name), a given name and list of people with the name * Tanya or Lara Saint Paul Silvana Savorelli (30 April 1945 – 8 May 2018) ...
'' (1976), directed by Nate Rodgers (also known as ''Sex Queen of the SLA'') * ''
Patty A patty or burger (in British English) is a flattened, usually round, serving of ground meat and/or legumes, grains, vegetables, or meat alternatives. Patties are found in multiple cuisines throughout the world. In British and American Eng ...
'' (1976), directed by Robert L. Roberts * ''The Ordeal of Patty Hearst'' (1979) (TV) * ''
Patty Hearst Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was found a ...
'' (1988), directed by
Paul Schrader Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...
, based on Hearst's autobiography ''Every Secret Thing'' * ''Citizen Tania'' (1989), written and directed by artist
Raymond Pettibon Raymond Pettibon (born Raymond Ginn, June 16, 1957) is an American artist who lives and works in New York City. Pettibon came to prominence in the early 1980s in the southern California punk rock scene, creating posters and album art mainly for ...
* ''Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst'' (2004), directed by Robert Stone (It was released under the alternate title ''Neverland: The Rise and Fall of the Symbionese Liberation Army''.) * ''The Radical Story of Patty Hearst'' (2018) (TV); the
Cable News Network CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the ...
produced a six-part docuseries on Patty Hearst. It featured on-air statements by several former members of the SLA. The report also contained several statements by
Jeffrey Toobin Jeffrey Ross Toobin (; born May 21, 1960) is an American lawyer, author, blogger, and longtime legal analyst for CNN. He left CNN on September 4, 2022. During the Iran–Contra affair, Toobin served as an associate counsel on this investigatio ...
, author of the ''American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst.'' The docuseries indirectly adapts Toobin's book as part of the report. * The freeware game ''Liberal Crime Squad'' by Tarn Adams, better known as the developer of ''Dwarf Fortress'', is a satirical game that allows the player to change policies through the methods of the SLA in order to win the game.
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...
's 1974 single of
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
's 1960s song "
Hey Joe "Hey Joe" is an American song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and has been performed in many musical styles by hundreds of different artists. The lyrics tell of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico after shooting ...
" begins with a salacious and provocative monologue about Patty Hearst and the SLA, which puts a feminist spin on the lyrics that had been written about a man who murders his adulterous wife and then flees to Mexico.
Honey, the way you play guitar makes me feel so... makes me feel so...''masochistic''. The way you go down low deep into the neck... and I would do anything... and I would do anything. And Patty Hearst, you standing there in front of the Symbionese Liberation Army flag with your legs spread. I was wondering: were you gettin' it every night from a black revolutionary man and his women? Or were you really dead? And now that you're on the run, what goes on in your mind? Your sisters they sit by the window. You know, your mama does sit and cry. And your daddy—well, you know what your daddy said Patty. You know what your daddy said, Patty? He said... he said... he said.... "Well, sixty days ago she was such a lovely child. Now here she is, with a gun in her hand.
Thus, Smith's version effectively casts Patty Hearst in the role of Joe "with a gun in her hand"—a violent criminal rebelling against the law and all civil authority. Before the fadeout, Smith sings in the voice of Hearst angrily repudiating both her privileged upbringing as well as the mainstream society which has condemned her as a spoiled, vacuous "pretty little rich girl" who became a terrorist. This particular recording was made when Patty Hearst was still a fugitive and members of the SLA were still at large. The 1976 film ''
Network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...
'' features a Maoist insurgent group, the Ecumenical Liberation Army. Although the film distinguishes it from the SLA, it is plainly a parody of the group and its relationship with the television business. Over the course of the film, the ELA kidnaps an heiress and reeducates her into the group, robs a bank, and negotiates with the titular network for its own prime-time program, ''The Mao Tse-Tung Hour''. The Norwegian rock band
Turbonegro Turbonegro (Turboneger in Norway) is a Norwegian rock band, active from 1989 to 1998 and from 2002 to the present. The band combines glam rock, punk rock, and hard rock into a self-described "deathpunk" musical style. History Early years (1 ...
included the seven-headed cobra symbol on the front cover of their 1998 album '' Apocalypse Dudes''. The episode "Inheritance" from the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
action-drama series '' S.W.A.T.'' focuses on the group of criminals with nearly similar motives and tactics as the SLA, later identified as ''The Emancipators''. The
Horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by ...
band Misfits have a song named "She" on their debut album '' Static Age'' which is about the Patty Hearst case and the ensuing controversy.


References


Further reading

* Boulton, David. ''The Making of Tania Hearst''. Bergenfield, N.J.: New American Library, 1975. 224+ 2pp., ill., ports., facsim., index, 22 cm. Also published: London: New English Library, 1975. * Hearst, Patty, with Alvin Moscow, ''Patty Hearst: Her Own Story''. New York: Avon, 1982. . (Original title: ''Every Secret Thing''.) * McLellan, Vin, and
Paul Avery Paul Avery (born Paul Stuart Depew II) (April 2, 1934December 10, 2000) was an American journalist, best known for his reporting on the Northern California serial killer known as the Zodiac, and later for his work on the Patty Hearst kidnapping a ...
. ''The Voices of Guns: The Definitive and Dramatic Story of the Twenty-two-month Career of the Symbionese Liberation Army''. New York: Putnam, 1977. * Weed, Steven, with Scott Swanton. ''My Search for Patty Hearst''. New York: Warner, 1976. (Weed was Hearst's fiancé at the time of the kidnapping. That was the end of their relationship.) *King, John Brian (editor).
Death to the Fascist Insect
'' Sacramento: Spurl Editions, 2019. *


External links

* Directed by Robert Stone, 2004

official web site for the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...
movie about SLA
''The Symbionese Liberation Army''
House Committee on Internal Security report
''The Other Parts Left out of the Patty Hearst Trial''
by
Paul Krassner Paul Krassner (April 9, 1932 – July 21, 2019) was an American author, journalist, and comedian. He was the founder, editor, and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine ''The Realist'', first published in 1958. Krassner became a key ...
*
Death to the Fascist Insect
'' a compilation of the writings and transcribed recordings of the Symbionese Liberation Army
The Political and Social Program of the SLA Manifesto (redacted 1974)Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Symbionese Liberation Army collection, 1973-1974
{{DEFAULTSORT:Symbionese Liberation Army Crimes in the San Francisco Bay Area 1973 establishments in California 1975 disestablishments in the United States American bank robbers Terrorism in the United States