US cop-killer charged with 'terrorism', murder

NEW YORK - A man accused of killing a Pennsylvania state trooper was charged with terror-related offences Thursday, according to court documents that allege his actions were politically motivated.

Eric Frein, 31, faces 11 charges in total, including acting with the intent to change the government after he shot two officers, one fatally.

"The defendant shot two Pennsylvania state troopers with the purpose of influencing the policy of government," according to an amended police complaint submitted to Pike County Courthouse in Pennsylvania.

Frein acted with "the purpose of affecting the conduct of a government," the document said.

Both charges were listed as "terrorism" offences.

He is also charged with first degree murder and possessing a "weapon of mass destruction." Police had initially sought several murder and assault charges, but after interviews with Frein submitted the additional terrorism charges.

Frein, reportedly a self-trained sniper and survivalist with a hatred of law enforcement, is accused of gunning down trooper Bryon Dickson II and wounding another officer on Sept 12.

He was arrested six weeks later, following a massive manhunt through Pennsylvania's mountains and dense forests.

According to the police complaint, Frein told police he wanted to "wake people up because it was all he could do," and said trying to enact change by voting was pointless.

"He wanted to make a change (in government) and that voting was insufficient to do so because there was no one worth voting for," the document said.

Frein had been included in the FBI's top 10 most wanted list as the search continued following his ambush outside a barracks near Pennsylvania's border with New York and New Jersey.

Frein has been described as a loner obsessed with military history who was fascinated by the modern Serbian army and paramilitary groups.

He took part and organised military re-enactments of battles between Serbs and Croats from the Bosnian war of the 1990s, reports said.