Survivalist Eric Frein Charged With Terrorism
Survivalist Eric Frein, who led Pennsylvania state troopers on a month-long chase through the Poconos Mountains before being captured, had reportedly been charged with terrorism.
Frein, who reportedly enjoyed role-playing as an eastern European soldier, led police on a seven-week manhunt that ended on October 30, when the suspect was apprehended near an abandoned airplane hangar only 30 miles from where he allegedly killed one state trooper and injured another in an ambush on September 12.
The suspect is being charged with murder and attempted murder, as well as two terrorism charges that include trying to affect the conduct of a government and trying to intimidate a government.
Police argue in their court documents that they added on these two extra terrorism charges because Frein reportedly told investigators following his arrest that "he wanted to make a change [in government] and that voting was insufficient to do so, because there was no one worth voting for."
Another piece of evidence that resulted in the two charges includes a letter Frein wrote to his parents. The letter states that Frein's "assassination" of the state troopers and subsequent escape was an effort to spark a revolution.
"There is so much wrong and on so many levels [that] only passing through the crucible for another revolution can get us back to the liberties we once had. I do not pretend to know what the revolution will look like or even if it would be successful," the letter reads.
"Tension is high at the moment and the time seems right for a spark to ignite a fire in the hearts of men," Frein continues in the letter. "What I have done has not been done before and it felt like it was worth a try."
According to NBC News, the "Mom and Dad" letter was allegedly found on Frein's computer.
