HAWLEY — Voting won’t change the government, Eric Matthew Frein explained to state police. Assassination might.

Mr. Frein admitted to state police shortly after his capture last month that he shot two state troopers because he wanted to “wake people up, because it was all he could do,” state police said Thursday in filing two counts of terrorism against the 31-year-old Canadensis man.

The alleged confession marks the first time any concrete idea of Mr. Frein’s motivation has emerged. A letter state police say Mr. Frein typed to his parents and stored on a thumb drive nearly a year before killing Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II expands on his idea that there is no one worth voting for and only a revolution could re-establish liberties Mr. Frein believes are lost. The thumb drive was found in an airport hangar where a U.S. Marshals Service team captured Mr. Frein.

Mr. Frein, of 308 Seneca Lane, Canadensis, appeared via video uplink from the Pike County Correctional Facility to hear the amended criminal complaint Thursday. With him were his two public defenders, Michael Weinstein and Robert Bernathy.

The small screen next to Magisterial District Judge Shannon L. Muir’s desk kept his pale and angular face inscrutable. His eyes were obscured in shadow. His responses were monosyllabic.

Prosecutors also dropped one count of attempted homicide of a law enforcement officer Thursday. Initially, Mr. Frein was charged with two counts of the crime. The remaining count reflects the attempt on Trooper Alex T. Douglass’ life. Trooper Douglass is in a New York City hospital awaiting more surgery.

Mr. Frein is the sole suspect in the Sept. 12 ambush at the Blooming Grove barracks that killed Cpl. Dickson, of Dunmore, and wounded Trooper Douglass, of Olyphant.

He led hundreds of local, state and federal officials on a 48-day manhunt from Blooming Grove, to the dense and rugged woods around his hometown and to Swiftwater, a populated zone on the edge of a Pocono tourism hot spot. Mr. Frein was captured on Oct. 30 at the hangar at the defunct Birchwood Resort.

Both counts of terrorism are first-degree felonies and each carry a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin has said he will seek the death penalty.

State police Lt. Col George Bivens said at a Wednesday press conference that state police are not concerned the confession could be suppressed, despite attorney James Swetz’s allegations that he was barred access to Mr. Frein immediately following the arrest. Mr. Swetz was retained by Mr. Frein’s family prior to the court appointing Mr. Weinstein and Mr. Bernathy.

Mr. Frein remains in the Pike County Correctional Facility without bail. He is also charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, criminal homicide of a law enforcement officer, assault of a law enforcement officer, discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, possessing instruments of crime, recklessly endangering another person and possessing weapons of mass destruction — stemming from two pipe bombs state police recovered in late September.

Mr. Frein’s preliminary hearing remains scheduled for Dec. 9.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, @jkohutTT on Twitter

Frein’s letter addressed to “Mom and Dad”

Written on Dec. 29 and last accessed on Oct. 6:

“Our nation is far from what it was and what it should be.

I have seen so many depressing changes made in my time that I cannot imagine what it must be like for you.

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. I do not pretend to know what that revolution will look like or even if it would be successful.

Tension is high at the moment and the time seems right for a spark to ignite a fire in the hearts of men. What I have done has not been done before and it felt like it was worth a try.

If I am dead I would like to be buried in a wood coffin (no lead lined casket!) so that my remains can return to where they came from. I understand that this might not be possible though, laws and what not, so don’t sweat it. Also, light a candle for me at the Russian or Greek Orthodox church in Stroudsburg from time to time. It doesn’t need to be during a liturgy, just whenever they are open. I am sure you can figure it out.

I do not have a death wish but I know the odds. I tried my best to do this thing without getting identified, but if you are reading this then I was not successful. If I am still alive and free know that I will do my best to remain as such. And as time goes by, if circumstances change, if my spark hit good tinder, then I may be able to return one day.

I am sorry. You guys are great parents, I am just not a good son. I squandered so much opportunity and support and rarely tried my best at anything. God knows I do not deserve the things I had, maybe because He knew I would be sacrificing all of it in the end, or maybe this is just the final squander. Who knows.

I love you. Please forgive me of my many faults. And thanks for putting up with me for so long.”