The United Federated Forces of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was an American organization active between 1973 and 1975 that committed bank robberies, two murders, and other acts of violence. The SLA became internationally notorious for the kidnapping of heiress Patricia Hearst, abducting the 19-year-old from Berkeley, California.
Interest increased when Hearst, in audiotaped messages delivered to and broadcast by regional news media, announced that she had joined the SLA. Hearst later said that members of the SLA threatened to kill her, held her in close confinement, and sexually assaulted and brainwashed her. As of 2017, all but one of the surviving SLA members have been released from prison.