WILKES-BARRE, Pa., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Charges against suspected Pennsylvania cop killer Eric Frein have been expanded to include two counts of terrorism since authorities discovered a letter from the survivalist touting "revolution," officials revealed.
Only "another revolution can get us back to the liberties we once had," said the letter Frein, 31, wrote to his parents that was found on his computer after his arrest, said police. "The time seems right for a spark to ignite a fire in the hearts of men."
Frein had already been charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and possession of a weapon of mass destruction for an ambush in September on a state police barracks that killed Cpl. Bryon Dickson and seriously injured Trooper Alex Douglass.
The new charges were added yesterday at a preliminary hearing. Frein appeared at the hearing via video.
The new charges -- terrorism to influence the policy of government by intimidation or coercion, and terrorism to affect the conduct of a government -- carry maximum prison sentences of 40 years, though prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty. Law enforcement authorities say Frein also left behind a letter after the attack, recounting how he shot officers with a rifle, then fled.
Attorney James Swetz complained to a local Pennsylvania newspaper that he was denied access to Frein following his arrest late last month, and believes he has legal grounds to challenge some of the statements Frein made to police at that time.
