Kidnapped Heiress: The Patty Hearst Story

You didn't have to be superstitious in early 1974 to believe the country was cursed. Gas lines wrapped around the block. Truckers were on strike, and the president was under siege.

And now, on top of all that, the news from California was that the kidnappers who'd snatched a newspaper heiress were demanding that her father, one of California's richest men, feed thousands of the state's poorest people.

The first of the Hearst family food giveaways was chaotic. Near riots broke out in some places.

“I hate to take advantage of what's been happening to the young lady but my children need food just like anybody else kids. Right on!”

And even though Randolph Hearst committed $2 million to the program, the SLA was unimpressed.

Field Marshall Cinque: This amount is not at all a good faith gesture, but just throwing a few crumbs to the people.

During this time, Patty says she was kept blindfolded in a closet--terrified and forced to have sex with SLA men.

Patty Hearst: I mean, if you are going to break somebody down, you clearly use everything that is at your disposal--and obviously sexual molestation is a really powerful way to attack a woman.

Frantic, Randolph Hearst even asked hardened criminals to help him contact the SLA---but nothing worked, not even a $4 million ransom offer. Then--in early April, after weeks of silence--the SLA released a stunning new recording. This one also had Patty's voice on it. But this time, the script had changed dramatically.

Patty Hearst: I have been given the choice of 1) being released in a safe area or 2) join the forces of the Symbionese Liberation Army and fighting for my freedom and the freedom of all oppressed people. I have chosen to stay and fight.

Not only that, but Patty said she had a new SLA name.

Patty Hearst: I have been given the name Tania after a comrade who fought alongside Che in Bolivia for the people of Bolivia.

Strange stuff--even by San Francisco standards. But then, the Symbionese Liberation Army was nothing, if not strange. Formed in the fall of 1973, the SLA seemed to be made out of contradictory elements left over from the 1960s. They emerged from the anti-war movement, yet promoted a military image. Half its members were ardent feminists, yet the men dominated. They embraced black militancy, yet only their leader, Cinque, was black. And though their logo was a fierce seven-headed cobra, the symbolism was--at best-- murky.

Patty Hearst: I had to memorize what each head of the seven-headed cobra meant. Of course, later on I learned that he had lifted that from the Kwanza celebration.

Just how Patty Hearst transitioned from terrified kidnap victim to the gun-toting terrorist is a question that still echoes across the decades. Was she a willing participant? Was she brainwashed? Or did her new SLA friends liberate her from the cloistered life of an heiress?

Randolph Hearst: Well, I think what people want to know is whether we believe Patty is a member of the SLA or not. Personally, I don't believe it.

It did seem hard to believe, but two weeks after allegedly joining the SLA, "Tania" made her debut.

The Hibernia bank in San Francisco had just opened when armed bandits burst through the front door, announcing a holdup, and shouting that they were the SLA.

Front and center were Cinque, wearing the floppy hat, and the heiress formerly known as Patty. 

Security Guard: I heard her say she would shoot the first SOB that moved or did anything out of line.

The bank security photos hit the nation like a bolt of lightning. The Hearsts insisted that Patty was still a victim. Look at the photos, they said.  Look at the guns pointed at Patty.

But nine days later came a new SLA recording.

Tania: Greetings to the people, this is Tania.

And "Tania" wanted to set the record straight.

Tania: My gun was loaded, and at no time did my comrades intentionally point their guns at me. As for being brainwashed, the idea is ridiculous to the point of being beyond belief.

By now the police heat in San Francisco was so intense, General Field Marshal Cinque decided to move his tiny army south to Los Angeles. For six of them, L.A. would be literally the end of the road.

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