12. The SLA made demands for her safe release
Though the government considered the SLA to be a terrorist organization, its members believed that they were fighting for the cause of justice among the poor and oppressed. They intended to use Patty’s kidnapping to bring publicity to their cause, mainly because she came from a family that sat among the elites that the SLA blamed for all of the problems in America. The initial goal was to trade Patty for two SLA members who were in prison for the murder of Marcus Foster, the black educator that they deemed to be a fascist. The police denied this request.
The SLA also demanded that her wealthy father donate $70 worth of food to every single person in California who was needy, a scheme that would cost him upwards of $400 million. He claimed that that amount was impossible, and the SLA backed down on demand. He donated $2 million worth of food, but riots broke out during the distribution. However, the SLA refused to release Patty. Meanwhile, the members were feeding her political propaganda while subjecting her to the cruelest of torture. Doing so would ensure that their cause, as urban guerrillas, would become palatable to the heiress who, until then, had spent her entire life in the lap of luxury.
