This week on Hashtag History, we are discussing Patty Hearst who -- in 1974 at only nineteen-years-old -- was kidnapped from her apartment in Berkeley, California. A few days after her kidnapping, a tape was received by a Berkeley radio station from the Symbionese Liberation Army that stated that they were holding Hearst as a prisoner of war and demanded that the Hearst family give millions of dollars worth of food to needy Californians in exchange for their daughter. Dissatisfied with the family’s response to this demand, the group continued to hold Hearst, seemingly against her will. Everything changed though when, two months after her kidnapping, surveillance footage at a San Francisco bank captured Hearst participating in an armed robbery alongside the group and later personally declared in tape recordings that she had officially joined the Symbionese Liberation Army of her own free will.

Patty Hearst instantly became one of the most hated people in America. When she was eventually arrested nearly two years after her capture, the country stood divided on their beliefs about her involvement. Was she a traitor? Had she really joined the SLA of her own volition? Or had she been brainwashed? Does Patty Hearst represent one of the most classic cases of Stockholm Syndrome in History?

Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.

Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com.

You can also check out our website for super cute merch!

You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!

Finally, you can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, bonus Hashtag Hangouts episodes, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!

THANKS FOR LISTENING!

- Rachel and Leah

---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hashtaghistory/support