ENCORE The Kidnapping of Patty Hearst | The Negotiation | 2

0:00This episode previously aired in 2022. A listener note, this episode contains descriptions of violence and references to sexual assault and may not be suitable for a younger audience.

0:23It's late in the morning on January 11, 1974. Sin-Q M. Tume is tossing and turning on an old musty bed in Concord, California. He has a splitting headache, and his mouth is hot and parched. And as the sunshine slants in through broken blinds, it feels like Sin-Q is being hit on the head with a baseball bat. Sin-Q rubs his eyes and tries to shake off the misery. He's in the throes of another brutal hangover, the predictable result of staying up late, drinking bottles of wine with his comrades, and talking until the early morning about how they're going to change the world. There was a lot of conversation about the need to overthrow America's systems of oppression and greed.

1:05And there were a lot of big promises about actions the group is planning to take. But for Seng Kiu, making promises has never been enough. He founded the Symbionese Liberation Army, a left-wing organization to push for real change. And recently, Seng Kiu led a dangerous mission that got the whole Bay Area talking. Sin Q and two of his comrades attacked the superintendent of Oakland's public schools, a man named Marcus Foster. The superintendent wanted to station armed security guards in the area's schools, a move that Sin Q believed was an act of fascism. So one night, after creeping through the shadows, Sin Q and some others charged at Foster and then gunned him down in cold blood.

1:47The local police quickly launched a manhunt to find the suspects, and the story was all over the news. After taking public responsibility for the crime, Sinh Kieu predicted that he and his comrades would be seen as heroes fighting for justice. But instead, the SLA faced widespread condemnation, and Sinh Kieu was left searching for another action that could rehabilitate his group's image. After some discussion, the group settled on a plan. They decided to kidnap Patricia Hurst, the granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hurst, and an heiress to a media empire. Sin Q believes the kidnapping will deal a symbolic but important blow to America's culture of privilege and wealth.

2:28And as long as he can shake off this hangover and get his head straight, Sin Q shouldn't have any trouble organizing the mission.

2:39Sin Q sits up and rubs his temples. It's clear this hangover isn't going away anytime soon. So he gets out of bed and starts getting dressed. As Sin Q puts on a shirt, the bedroom door opens a crack. Hey, Sin, are you awake? Yeah, I'm up. You can come in. A white woman with brown hair and thick eyebrows steps into the bedroom. Her birth name is Patricia Siltisic, but like other members of the SLA, she's adopted a new name to represent her radical identity. Ms. Moon, tell me you got some coffee in the pot. Yeah, we do, but Sin, nah, we'll talk when I wake up. Sin Q scoots past his comrade, but Ms.

3:17Moon stops him, laying a hand on his shoulder. Oh, Sin, we have to talk now. Joe Romero and Russ Little were arrested last night. Arrested? What for? I don't know, but they were sitting out in their van, and some cops showed up. Turned into a shootout. The police got both of them. Oh, are you kidding me? No, Sin, this is real. Sin Q looks down, processing the news. Well, Romero and Little, they're soldiers. They're not going to talk. Well, that's not what I'm worried about. It's the leaflets. They had stacks of them in the van. The cops are already looking for us after that Marcus Foster thing.

3:52Now they know Ramiro and Little are connected to the SLA. It's only a matter of time before they track us down. And that worries you. Yeah, Sin, I've never been to prison and I don't think I can do it. Nah, you're not going to prison. None of us are. When I broke out, I made a promise I was never going back. So what do we do? How do we get out of this? Sinh Kue spends a moment thinking. Their safe house is filled with incriminating evidence, and if the cops do show up, he's sure he'll be arrested for the murder of Marcus Foster. Sinh Kue knows he needs a plan, so he heads out to the living room to survey the rest of the group for ideas.

4:29After some anxious discussion, SLA member Nancy Ling Perry speaks up, suggesting they get rid of all the evidence at once. Sin Q shoots her a confused look, but Perry pulls out a lighter and grins. They can burn down the house, along with all the evidence, take care of all their problems in one fell swoop. Sin Q drums his fingers on the table, thinking, it's a reckless plan, burning down an entire house, but it would get the job done before the cops have a chance to show up. So Sin Q gives Perry the approval, and he and his followers get to work. They cover the inside of the safe house in gunpowder and gasoline.

5:07Sin Q sets up a six-inch fuse. After lighting it, the group dashes out of the house and piles into a beat-up Oldsmobile. As soon as the doors are shut, Sin Q lays his foot on the gas, speeding down the street, glancing in the rearview mirror. Soon, their safe house will be nothing more than a heap of charred wood and ashes. The police won't know where to find the Symbionese Liberation Army, and Sin Q and his followers will be able to finish their next mission and kidnap Patricia Hurst.

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7:10By the time she was 19, Patricia Hurst had already begun breaking away from her family. She was intent on building a life of her own, one that wasn't defined by her grandfather's legacy or her parents' wealth. Hurst began studying as an undergrad at UC Berkeley, and she got engaged to an older man working on a PhD in philosophy. But Hearst's dreams of independence would be cut short. A group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army targeted her for kidnapping. The political radicals planned a brazen assault, which they believed would strike at the heart of American capitalism, sexism, and racism.

7:47And in the aftermath of the crime, the Hearst family found itself at the center of a national media sensation, one that raised questions about what had really happened to Patricia Hearst. This is Episode 2, The Negotiation.

8:04It's the night of February 4th, 1974, and Patricia Hearst is lying in the trunk of a vintage white Chevy. Her wrists are bound with rope. She's blindfolded and gagged. And although the pain is excruciating, Hearst keeps gyrating her hands against the rope, trying to break free. She doesn't understand how it came to this. Just an hour ago, she was curled up on the couch, watching television with her fiancé, Steve Weed. There was a knock on the door, and when they answered, they found a woman in the hallway who said she accidentally ran into someone's car and was hoping to use the phone. It didn't seem like anything to think twice about.

8:43But then, in the blink of an eye, a pair of armed intruders burst into the apartment. Hearst's fiancé fled out the back, leaving Hearst by herself, outnumbered and held at gunpoint. At first, the crime didn't make any sense. But it didn't take long before Hearst realized that she was the target, that the intruders wanted to kidnap the granddaughter of media mogul William Randolph Hearst. So she was dragged out of her apartment, thrown into the trunk of a car, gagged with a cloth and blindfolded. And then the car sped away. Lying in the dark trunk, Hearst keeps moving her hands, trying to find some way out of the ropes.

9:23If she can get her hands free, she can take off the blindfold and maybe find a latch to open the trunk from the inside. When the car comes to a red light, she'll be able to jump out and make a run for it and pray that her captors don't open fire. For several minutes, Hearst works patiently, getting closer and closer, and finally, she manages to free one of her wrists. Hearst takes off the blindfold and began searching frantically for the latch to open the trunk. But as she glides her hand over the dark metal, suddenly the car slows down and pulls over. A car door slams. And before she can put her blindfold back on, the trunk swings open, and Hearst comes face to face with a man with a short afro.

10:06The man yells out, asking how the hell the blindfold came off. He asks for assistance, and right as Hearst tries to leap up, someone else rushes over and grabs a hold of her. She begins thrashing, but her two captors lift her up and then toss her into the backseat of another car. The man with the afro hops in after her and snarls at Hearst, telling her not to make a single noise and threatening to shoot her if she does. Hearst can tell the man is serious, and with her mouth still gagged, she just nods her head and doesn't make another sound. For a while, the car continues driving through the streets of Berkeley, And when it begins to slow down on a residential street, one of the men reaches over to Hurst and puts a blindfold back on.

10:51Then he tells her to get up and get out. Hurst is led into what seems to be a house. She's taken on a winding tour until finally she's shoved forward into another room. The door shuts and locks behind her. When Hurst begins feeling around, she realizes she's in some kind of tiny space, maybe only a few feet wide. Hurst starts to panic. Feels like she's in a coffin. She begins knocking into the walls, trying to find her way out, trying to get back into the light. When a man's voice calls out from the other side, telling her to stop. It's just a closet. Her slumps to the ground, feeling defeated.

11:30But as she rubs her hand along the perimeter of the closet, she notices something strange. The walls are padded, almost as though the space was prepared for a person. Someone who might have to stay in this closet for a long time.

11:46The next morning, Patricia Hearst sits up in the dark closet. She's still gagged and blindfolded and didn't get a minute of sleep all night. Hearst has no idea where she is or who kidnapped her. But what she does know is that right now she needs to use the bathroom. Outside the closet, loud music is blaring. Hearst kicks the closet door as hard as she can, trying to get someone's attention. No one seems to notice, so Hearst keeps kicking until finally the music cuts and the closet door swings open. With her blindfold on, she can't see the person standing in front of her. But when she hears the voice, it sounds like the man with the afro, the one from the car.

12:25The man takes the gag out of her mouth and asks why Hearst keeps kicking the door. Hearst responds that she needs to use the restroom. The man grumbles and then grabs a hold of her, saying he'll take her. Hearst recoils. There's no way she wants one of her kidnappers standing over her while she's blindfolded on the toilet. But the man says that's her only option. She's a prisoner of war, and she's speaking to SYNCUE, the General Field Marshal of the Symbionese Liberation Army. The SLA is fighting a war against capitalism, fascism, and oppression. And as a POW in this conflict, Hearst will be treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention.

13:06Hearst has no idea what this man is talking about. He sounds unhinged. But right now, she is more concerned with relieving her bladder than anything else, so Hurst asks again if she can use the restroom alone. Sin Q mutters a curse, but offers a compromise. A woman named Jelena will accompany her instead. A moment later, someone else approaches, and she sounds familiar too, like the woman who knocked on Hurst's door just last night, saying she'd hit a car in the garage. There's a bit of back and forth, but finally Hurst is taken to the bathroom, And while she's grateful not to be watched there by a man, she still feels exposed and humiliated to be seen like this, even by a female kidnapper.

13:49But she manages to use the toilet with a woman by her side. When Hearst is led back to the closet, Jelena explains that this is an opportunity for Hearst to grow as a person. Everyone in the SLA once lived just like her, a bourgeois lifestyle with no real understanding of the world. They were the kind of people who would never really see the meaning of revolutionary action, like the recent shooting of Marcus Foster. Hearst knows the name Foster. He was the school superintendent in Oakland, gunned down in a parking lot. And now she suddenly makes the connection to the name Symbionese Liberation Army.

14:26This group put out a statement taking responsibility for the murder. Hearst tries not to show any fear. But as she's thrown back in the closet, she's hit with a wave of panic. Her captors aren't run-of-the-mill political radicals. They're murderers. And if they are capable of killing Marcus Foster, Hearst might be next.

14:48A week later, Patricia Hearst's father, Randy, steps into the living room of his mansion in Hillsborough, California. He looks across the room where his wife, Catherine, is leaning against a wall. In a leather armchair, Steve Weed, Randy's soon-to-be son-in-law, is running a hand over his black eye. And sitting beside a portable tape player is FBI Special Agent Charlie Bates, who is here to play a pair of audio tapes for the Hursts. The agent loads up the machine as Randy collapses onto a sofa. He's drained and hasn't slept ever since he got word that his daughter Patricia had been kidnapped. Night after night, Randy has stayed up late, waiting for any updates, any reason to be hopeful.

15:30He can't stop worrying that his daughter might already be dead. But just recently, there was a development. An envelope arrived at the local radio station with these two audio tapes from Patricia's captors. The station got in touch with the FBI, and the agent brought the tapes over to the Hursts so they could listen together. My name is Sin Q, and to my comrades I am known as Sin. I hold the rank of General Field Marshal in the United Federated Forces of the Sinbanese Liberation Army. Today, I have received an order from the Symbionese War Council, the court of the people, to the effect that I am ordered to convey the following message, that Patricia Campbell Hurst is alive and safe.

16:18Hearing this news, Randy Hurst's body goes slack with relief. His daughter is okay, and it's not too late to get her back. But the man calling himself Sin Q continues with a deranged rant, saying the SLA arrested Patricia for crimes that her parents committed against oppressed people through their fascist media empire. Sin Q says the SLA would like to negotiate for Patricia's return, but first they have a demand. The Hursts have to give away$70 worth of groceries to every needy Californian. Randy shakes his head, stunned. The Hearst Corporation is an exceedingly rich business, but this demand could add up to hundreds of millions of dollars.

17:00And even with his mansion and summers at the castle, Randy Hearst isn't as flush as most people think. And when he discusses the demand with Bates, the FBI agent suggests that negotiating a ransom isn't a good idea in the first place. By distributing these tapes to a radio station, the SLA is creating an unwinnable situation for the Hearsts. the political group is creating a public spectacle. And if the Hursts try to negotiate, they could find themselves backed into a corner, with the SLA issuing larger and larger demands. Randy knows the agent has a point, but this is his daughter they're talking about.

17:38At the same time, if Randy is going to negotiate with violent radicals, he wants some assurance that his daughter is doing all right. So Randy asks the FBI agent to play the second tape. Dad, I'm okay. I had a few scrapes and stuff, but they've washed them up and they're getting okay. And I'm not being starved or beaten or unnecessarily frightened. Randy has to hold back sobs hearing his daughter's voice. Patricia is alive, but in the recording, his daughter goes on to issue a warning, saying they're going to have to follow the SLA's orders and she hopes her father will do what they ask and do it quickly.

18:25The tape stops playing and Randy exchanges a look with his wife. He understands why it might be a bad idea to negotiate a ransom but they don't have any other options, do they? They need to bring Patricia back home.

18:42Several weeks later, Patricia Hearst turns over on the floor of the closet that's become her prison. Outside her small space, she can hear what sounds like beer bottles clanking together. Somebody else is making lunch. Or maybe it's breakfast or dinner. It's hard to keep track of time. But for weeks, these muffled sounds have been her entire world. Hearst is sat listening to members of the SLA constantly getting drunk, arguing about how they're going to overthrow the system, even having sex in a revolving door of romantic partners. It's a small and claustrophobic existence, only made a little better when the SLA allows her to watch TV.

19:21Hearst has seen the national media coverage of her kidnapping. She's watched her father publicly negotiate for her release, staging press conferences and working to meet the SLA's demands. Randy Hearst hasn't yet raised all the money the SLA requested. He's only managed to gather together a couple million dollars. But through some kind of miracle, he did pull off a food giveaway program. It didn't go smoothly, with residents rioting over meat and produce, but Randy Hurst was able to feed thousands of people. And while launching these programs, Patricia's father sent a message to his daughter. Hang tight.

19:57They were going to get her back. So Hurst began to feel optimistic that she was going to make it out of this nightmare. But then the saga took another turn, when SINQ increased his demands and asked for another$4 million for the food giveaway. After that escalation, Randy Hurst appeared to cut off talks, saying the Hurst Corporation would only pay the money if his daughter was first released. Otherwise, the matter of his daughter's kidnapping was out of his hands. Hearing that announcement, Hurst was left feeling hopeless. Hurst sits, peering through a crack in the closet door. When she hears footsteps approaching, Hurst wraps the blindfold back over her face and waits as the door opens.

20:40Patricia, you can take off the blindfold. Hearst recognizes the voice. It's Sin Q, the man leading the SLA. Hearst removes the blindfold and finds her captor standing over her, wearing a ski mask. Okay, what is it? Has something happened? Oh yeah, something big is happening. Your family, those capitalist pigs, they decided they cared more about money than their own daughter. What are you talking about? Negotiations are done. Your father made it official. No, he's got to be just bluffing. He's trying to force your hand to get you to back down. I don't think so. No, I know them. They're business people.

21:17That's what they do. No, no, no, my little Marie Antoinette. Let me tell you something. Your father has cut off negotiations. It's over. No, no, no. Yeah, yeah. And you better believe it. What does that mean? What are you going to do with me? Sin Q pulls back his jacket and takes out a shotgun. No, no, no. No, he was playing hardball. I know my father. You'll get the money. Come on out. No, please, don't hurt me. Come on out. No, don't do this. Hearst shuts her eyes, waiting. She's certain that this is it, the end. But even as she trembles in fear for her life, Sin Q starts to laugh. He tells Hearst he's not going to hurt her.

22:02He's going to train her to be a fighter. Hearst opens her eyes, dumbfounded. Sinh Kieu goes on, saying the FBI wants nothing more than to raid their house and kill all of them. That's what law enforcement does. So the SLA took a vote. If and when that day comes, everyone needs to be ready to fight, and that includes Hearst. Hearst blinks, still shocked. A second ago, she thought she was about to be killed. But now her captors want her to carry a weapon? Sinh Kieu nods and offers the shotgun. He adds that Hearst is as much a part of the struggle as anyone in the SLA. She just hasn't woken up yet.

22:40Hearst doesn't know what to do. Her captors are guilty of murder. Without any remorse, they shot down the Oakland school superintendent. At the same time, her family seems to have abandoned her. It's a twisted reality that the SLA might be all she has. So still stunned and confused, Hearst steps out of the closet, grabs the shotgun. She doesn't know what's going to happen. or whether this is all just a big mind game. But Hearst does know that from here on out, she has no choice but to continue following their orders. It's the only way she's going to survive.

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