Leader of the Symbionese Liberation Army (1943–1974)
Donald DeFreeze
Mugshot from 1973
Born
Donald David DeFreeze
(1943-11-16)November 16, 1943
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died
May 17, 1974(1974-05-17) (aged 30)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death
Suicide by gunshot
Other names
Field Marshal Cinque, Cinque Mtume
Movement
Symbionese Liberation Army
Donald David DeFreeze (November 16, 1943 – May 17, 1974), also known as Cinque Mtume and using the nom de guerre "General Field Marshal Cinque", was known as the "spokesman" of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a small, American far-left group that formed in Oakland, California in 1973. Some analysts suggested he was a figurehead; others said he was the leader. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he dropped out of high school and was involved from the age of 14 in frequent brushes with the criminal justice system. He received generous probation in the late 1960s, leading some sources to suggest he was serving as a police informant to the Los Angeles Police Department.
He and several white allies began to make plans for armed action that they believed would arouse the black community and attract more recruits. Three SLA soldiers fatally shot Marcus Foster, the Superintendent of Public Schools in Oakland, the first black superintendent of any major public school system, and wounded his deputy. They mistakenly believed he supported a program of student IDs, and, by his assassination, alienated the black community. Two members of the SLA were arrested in January 1974, convicted and sentenced to prison for the crimes.
DeFreeze and co-conspirators next kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst February 1974, seeking a ransom and attention. Police pressure rose. During a shootout with law enforcement in Los Angeles, DeFreeze committed suicide by gunshot when he and five SLA members made a stand in a burning house. A private investigation before this last assault suggested that DeFreeze may have been a police informant and agent provocateur from before the founding days of the SLA. His remains were returned to Cleveland, where the funeral was organized at the family's request by members of the Sunni Orthodox Moslem sect.
Donald David DeFreeze (November 16, 1943 – May 17, 1974), also known as Cinque Mtume and using the nom de guerre "General Field Marshal Cinque", was known...
house where the members had gone to ground accidentally caught fire. DonaldDeFreeze committed suicide by gunshot before the fire engulfed him. Camilla...
prisoners. One notable member of the BCA was a black prisoner named DonaldDeFreeze. Defreeze became close with Westbrook and quickly embraced the revolutionary...
Hearst had visited black convict DonaldDeFreeze, who later became the SLA's figurehead.(subscription required) DeFreeze's extensive arrest records and generous...
persons like their black leader Field Marshal Cinque (pronounced sin-q) (DonaldDeFreeze), who had served time in prison. This partly explained their allegiance...
On January 26, 2017, Alianna DeFreeze, a fourteen-year-old girl from Cleveland, Ohio, was kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered by Christopher Whitaker...
The Dark Tower and The Stand by Marvel Comics. King initially cited DonaldDeFreeze, primary kidnapper of Patty Hearst, as his inspiration for Flagg. Later...
Berkeley. At Vacaville, Perry formed a relationship with black inmate DonaldDeFreeze, who was active at the prison. He was given permission to see her in...
Wheeler was involved in a small prison group, Unisight, organized by DonaldDeFreeze, whom he had met through the BCA. In this period, Wheeler also met...
relationship at the time with DonaldDeFreeze, an alleged informant for LAPD. Years later Westbrook had contact with DeFreeze when the latter was in prison...
blindfolded and with her hands tied. During this time, SLA founder Cinque (DonaldDeFreeze) repeatedly threatened her with death. She was allowed to leave the...
later also at University of California, Berkeley. Escaped convict DonaldDeFreeze became known as the SLA spokesman as the group gained notoriety. Patricia...
became founding members of the Symbionese Liberation Army, along with DonaldDeFreeze, Patricia Soltysik, Nancy Ling Perry, Thero Wheeler, Mary Alice Siem...
life outside. Late that year the Harrises met an escaped prisoner, DonaldDeFreeze, who was staying with white leftist activists in Berkeley. He and Patricia...
Organization Weather Underground People Angela Davis Assata Shakur DonaldDeFreeze Elaine Brown Eldridge Cleaver Fay Bellamy Powell Fred Hampton Gloria...
at Vacaville Prison and other sites. At Vacaville, she met inmates DonaldDeFreeze and Thero Wheeler through events of the Black Cultural Association...
The Patty Hearst Kidnapping, Mind Control, and the Secret History of DonaldDeFreeze and the SLA. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1510714274. Archived from...
Ridiculous 6 movie review (2015)". Roger Ebert. Retrieved December 13, 2019. DeFore, John (October 20, 2017). "'Where's the Money': Film Review". The Hollywood...
separate burglary beginning August 1975, but was "paroled a year later." DonaldDeFreeze (1943–1974) – Leader of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), was incarcerated...
2020. "Civil Rights Leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Speaks on the DePauw Campus". DePauw University. Retrieved May 10, 2022. "Transcript of Dr. Martin...
be painted on his house in Leamington Lane by an artist known only as "Donald", said that Norman, a short time before he died in 2006, came to see the...
Willie "The Actor" Sutton Symbionese Liberation Army Patty Hearst DonaldDeFreeze James Kilgore Emily Harris Sara Jane Olson Too Tall Bandit, identity...
Organization Weather Underground People Angela Davis Assata Shakur DonaldDeFreeze Elaine Brown Eldridge Cleaver Fay Bellamy Powell Fred Hampton Gloria...
programming. Six SLA members died during the incident. SLA leader DonaldDeFreeze (aka Commander Cinque), 30, shot himself to death. Camilla Hall, 29...
met in 1962 when they were both students at Merritt College. They joined Donald Warden's Afro-American Association, where they read widely, debated, and...
Organization Weather Underground People Angela Davis Assata Shakur DonaldDeFreeze Elaine Brown Eldridge Cleaver Fay Bellamy Powell Fred Hampton Gloria...
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