Prosecutors on Thursday handed down two terrorism charges against Eric Frein, the survivalist accused of killing a Pennsylvania state trooper and wounding another in a late-night ambush before going on the lam for nearly seven weeks.
Investigators said they based the new charges on a letter allegedly written by Frein, 31, to his parents, where he calls for a government revolution. He also told state police in an interview after his arrest that he killed trooper Bryon Dickson to “wake people up”.
“There is so much wrong and on so many levels only passing through the crucible of another revolution can get us back the liberties we once had,” Frein said in the letter. “I do not pretend to know what the revolution will look like or even if it would be successful.”
The letter was initially created in late December 2013 and was found on a thumb drive investigators obtained in their search, according to the criminal complaint.
“Tension is high at the moment and the time seems right for a spark to ignite a fire in the hearts of men,” Frein said. “What I have done has not been done before and it felt like it was worth a try.”
Frein appeared by video conference at the hearing with judge Shannon L Muir. The terrorism charges are for trying to “influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion” and “affect the conduct of a government”.
Frein is accused of killing Dickson in a 12 September ambush at the rural police barracks. Trooper Alex Douglass was also shot and wounded in the attack. This week, Douglass was moved from a rehabilitation facility to a New York City hospital for additional care.
In October, US marshals captured Frein in an abandoned plane hangar in the Poconos Mountains. Officials said they surprised Frein during a sweep of the area, and that he kneeled and put his hands up after being approached by US marshals.
More than 1,000 law enforcement officials were called in for the search which covered a densely wooded portion of the Poconos and brought life in the region to a standstill in the immediate days after Frein was announced as a suspect.
“I do not have a death wish but I know the odds,” Frein said. “I tried my best to do this thing without getting identified, but if you are reading this then I was not successful.”
In the letter, he also outlined his requests for burial in the case that he died. He asked to be buried in a wood coffin without lead lining, and for his parents to light a candle in the local Russian or Greek Orthodox church “from time to time”. Frein said: “You guys are great parents, I am just not a good son.”
