The Symbionese Liberation Army

Often referred to as the SLA, this is the group that kidnapped Patricia Hearst. They called themselves a political movement but had disjointed philosophies and agendas, and accomplished very little during their brief term of existence.

Tania

This is the name Patricia took after she joined the SLA. The change of the name is her symbolic acceptance of the SLA politics and culture.

Mel's Sporting Goods

Bill shoplifted a small item from Mel's, which resulted in a clerk confronting him as he was leaving the store. The clerk and Bill got into a scuffle and Patricia shot at the store from her hiding place in the van. Those shots were used later to help prosecutors make the case that Patricia was a willing accomplice instead of a brainwashed victim. That shootout was also the catalyst that resulted in the shootout between the other six...