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| FILE - In this Oct. 31, 2014, file photo, Eric Frein, charged with the murder of Pennsylvania State Trooper Cpl. Byron Dickson and critically wounding Trooper Alex Douglass, is taken to prison after a preliminary hearing in Pike County Courthouse in Milford, Pa. On Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014, authorities added terrorism charges againstFrein and they say he told them he wanted to "wake people up." State police say Eric Frein called slaying of Cpl. Bryon Dickson an "assassination" in an interview after his capture. |
BLOOMING GROVE,
Pa. (AP) -- Authorities have added terrorism charges against a man
accused of ambushing a Pennsylvania State Police barracks and killing a
trooper, and they say he told them he wanted to "wake people up."
State
police say Eric Frein called the Sept. 12 slaying of Cpl. Bryon Dickson
an "assassination" in an interview after his capture.
Police
filed the additional counts on Thursday. He was already charged with
first-degree murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
In
court papers, police say they found a letter addressed to "Mom and Dad"
on a thumb drive belonging to Frein. They quote the letter as saying
that only a revolution "can get us back the liberties we once had."
Frein is accused of opening fire outside the Blooming Grove barracks, killing Dickson and seriously wounding another trooper.
The
quiet takedown of Frein last month ended weeks of tension and turmoil
in the area, as authorities at times closed schools, canceled outdoor
events and blockaded roads to pursue him. Residents grew weary of
hearing helicopters overhead, and small businesses suffered mounting
losses.
Police said they linked Frein to the
troopers' ambush after a man walking his dog discovered his partly
submerged SUV three days later in a swamp a few miles from the shooting
scene. Inside, investigators found shell casings matching those found at
the barracks as well as Frein's driver's license, camouflage face
paint, two empty rifle cases and military gear.
Officials,
saying Frein was armed and extremely dangerous, had urged residents to
be alert and cautious. Using dogs, thermal imaging technology and other
tools, law enforcement officials combed miles of forest as they hunted
for Frein, whom they called an experienced survivalist at home in the
woods.
They pursued countless tips and closed
in on an area around Frein's parents' home in Canadensis after he used
his cellphone to try contacting them and the signal was traced to a
location about 3 miles away. At times police ordered nearby residents to
stay inside or prevented them from returning home.
When
Frein was arrested near an abandoned airline hangar, he was placed in
the handcuffs of the trooper he's accused of killing. He was driven back
to the state police barracks in the trooper's cruiser.
Police
refused to tell Frein that his family had hired an attorney for him the
night he was captured, his lawyer has said. Veteran criminal defense
attorney James Swetz said he was prevented from seeing Frein the night
he was arrested.
"I was told, `He's an adult and has not asked for a lawyer,'" Swetz recounted days ago.
