Fleeing to Sweden and Algeria
While on bail, prior to his appeals, Pete and Charlotte O’Neal escaped to Sweden and then to Algiers where Eldridge Cleaver accepted them into the International Section of the Black Panther Party. An American, Elaine Klein, helped Cleaver and the Black Panther Party become recognized by the Algerian government as an anti-colonial movement. Pete describes the organization and activities of the International Section, focusing on its contacts with the embassies of various communist states and non-state revolutionary groups. He explains the reasons for the split in the Party between Huey Newton and Eldridge Cleaver, the latter’s departure from the Party, and Pete’s assumption of the International Section’s leadership role. O’Neal describes the two plane hijackings to Algiers, the resulting frictions between the Panthers and the Algerian government, and the Panthers’ departure from Algeria. Pete also relates the Panthers’ experiences with some visitors, including Timothy Leary.