Symbionese Liberation Army

The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was an American self-styled left-wing revolutionary group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a vanguard army. The group committed bank robberies, two murders, and other acts of violence.

The SLA became internationally notorious for kidnapping media heiress Patty Hearst, abducting the 19-year-old and her 26-year-old boyfriend Steven Weed from their home in Berkeley, California. Interest increased when Hearst, in audiotaped messages delivered to (and broadcast by) regional news media, denounced her parents and announced she had joined the SLA. She was subsequently observed participating in their illegal activities. Hearst later alleged that she had been held in close confinement, sexually assaulted and brainwashed.

Read more about Symbionese Liberation Army:  Beliefs and Symbols, Murder of Marcus Foster, Kidnapping of Patty Hearst, Conditions of The Initial Captivity of Patty Hearst, Bibliography

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