The startling news 50 years ago Sunday that Patty Hearst, granddaughter of media magnate William Randolph Hearst, had been kidnapped by a far-left terrorist organization was eclipsed only by the more shocking revelation two months later that she had “renounced” her “class privilege“ and joined the militant group.
Following her Feb. 4, 1974, kidnapping by the tiny, disorganized Symbionese Liberation Army, Hearst began to lose faith in her wealthy family’s ability to meet the SLA’s initial $4 million ransom demand ($25 million today), which continued to escalate. On April 3, she released a tape as “Tania,” the 11th member of the SLA.
