Eric Frein thought the nation was headed in the wrong direction and concluded that change couldn’t be made at the ballot box. So, two months ago, he picked up a high-powered rifle and ambushed two troopers outside a Pennsylvania State Police barracks to “wake people up,” according to new court documents that provide the first indication of a possible motive.
In an interview with authorities the night of his capture and in a letter to his parents, Frein revealed himself to be deeply dissatisfied with the government and society, saying he hoped to foment a revolution to reclaim “the liberties we once had,” said the documents, filed Thursday in support of terrorism charges against the sniper suspect.
Frein already faced first-degree murder and other counts in the Sept. 12 ambush which killed Cpl. Bryon Dickson, seriously wounded another trooper and sparked a 48-day manhunt in the Pocono Mountains.
Frein has not entered a plea. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
On the night of his capture, Frein waived his right to remain silent and told police in an interview at the barracks that he had shot the troopers “because he wanted to make a change (in government) and that voting was inefficient to do so, because there was no one worth voting for,” according to a criminal complaint. “The defendant further acknowledged taking action (shooting the troopers) to wake people up because it was all he could do.”