A Pennsylvania man who beheaded his own father and displayed it in a YouTube video erupted into an outrageous rant about how his case ‘presents a picture of America’ as he was sentenced to life in prison.
Justin Mohn, 33, was convicted on Friday of crimes including murder and terrorism over the gruesome death of his father, former federal government worker Michael Mohn, 68, on January 30, 2024.
Mohn cut his father’s head off and held it up in front of a camera for a YouTube video that received thousands of views before it was taken off the internet.
Judge Stephen Corr condemned Mohn’s sickening act as he handed down the verdict in his bench trial, saying his crimes were an ‘indictment on the mental health system in this country.’
Moments before, Mohn had referenced his horrifying video that made international headlines last year, in which he ranted about ‘woke mobs’ and called for the assassinations of Joe Biden‘s cabinet members while using his father’s severed head as a prop.
Mohn vowed to appeal Corr’s decision at his sentencing, and bizarrely offered to be part of a prisoner exchange with American soldiers locked up in Russia, per the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In his appalling courtroom outburst, Mohn said that he had no remorse for murdering his father, but was ‘sorry my family went through what they did because of the federal government’s actions and my reaction to it.’
It comes days after Mohn took the stand in his own defense on Wednesday, where he said he carried out the gruesome killing as a ‘plan B’ after his father refused his citizen’s arrest for ‘treason.’
Mohn admitted to the killing but pleaded not guilty to murder, alleging that he was within his rights to use deadly force because his father refused his citizen’s arrest.
Justin Mohn, 33, (pictured at a previous court appearance) who beheaded his own father and displayed it in a YouTube video last year, erupted into an outrageous rant as he was sentenced to life in prison
According to court reports from his testimony, which was not televised, Mohn coldly detailed killing his father without emotion, as his mother Denice openly wept in the courtroom.
Mohn said he first tried to perform a citizen’s arrest on his father in their home, holding him at gunpoint outside a bathroom and telling him he was taking him into custody.
He said his father was an experienced martial artist, and after warning he would kill him before allowing himself to be arrested, Mohn said his father then reached for the gun.
Mohn said he shot his father because, ‘Unfortunately, he resisted,’ and added in his testimony: ‘I was hoping to perform a citizen’s arrest on my father for, ultimately, treason.’ No further details on this alleged ‘treason’ were shared.
He then decapitated his father with a kitchen knife and machete, before filming himself holding the severed head on camera in a 14-minute YouTube video that remained online for several hours.
Titled ‘Mohn’s Militia – Call to Arms for American Patriots’, the video saw the 33-year-old erupt into a right-wing rant in which he offered a $1 million bounty for the assassinations of several Biden administration cabinet members.
Justin Mohn’s father, Michael, and his mother, Denice. Michael was found beheaded in a bathroom on January 30, 2024, after refusing a citizen’s arrest, his son said
Mohn, who often shared bizarre music and conspiracy-theory fueled writings online (one of his album covers is pictured), was told at his sentencing that his crimes were an ‘indictment on the mental health system in this country’
At his sentencing on Friday, Mohn’s mother, brother and sister all urged Corr to sentence him to life in prison, warning that he was unhinged and is a danger to the community.
His sister Stephanie said he stole their parents’ ‘golden years’, in which they were supposed to enjoy retirement after raising their family.
Mohn had moved out for a number of years in Colorado, but eventually moved back in with his parents in Pennsylvania, and would go on to write unhinged rants online about how he was punished for being a ‘straight white male.’
Prosecutors produced Mohn’s notebook during his testimony, in which he had written that his ‘plan B’ was to ‘boom’ and ‘slice.’
Mohn said he expected his father to comply with his citizen’s arrest, but when he resisted, he decided to decapitate him to send a stronger message to the government as he began his on-camera rant.
He said in his testimony that he differed politically from his parents, who he said were liberals while he was staunchly conservative, and previously said he believed his father was part of a ‘deep state’ in the federal government.
Mohn’s father had worked as an engineer with the geoenvironmental section of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Much of his gruesome rant echoed the far-right fringe QAnon movement, which hinges on fabricated claims about the ‘deep state’ from an anonymous online figure called ‘Q.’
He had shared several ‘albums’ of music on his YouTube, and Mohn also wrote poetry and conspiracy-laden manifestos, including one that appeared to preview his warped plan, entitled: ‘America’s Coming Bloody Revolution.’
Its blurb reads: ‘Similar to Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ published in 1776 which helped inspire the American Revolution, the short, easy to understand pamphlet explains why another revolution is likely in America… and how it could be successful.’
Mohn wrote poetry and conspiracy-laden manifestos online, in which he often referred to himself as the ‘messiah’ and called for the overthrow of the US government
He had shared several ‘albums’ of music on his YouTube, where he later posted a video with his father’s severed head that remained online for hours and received thousands of views
Police said Mohn’s mother Denice returned home on January 30, 2024, to find her husband’s decapitated body
Mohn also described himself as the ‘messiah’ in the video with his father’s head, and he said in court that he believed his father was trying to stop him from becoming the president of the United States, comparing himself to Donald Trump.
Asked why he severed his father’s head, he said he believed it would pressure the federal government to meet his demands, including the resignation of top Cabinet officials in the Biden administration and the cancellation of public debt.
He said he did not do it out of hatred for his father, but added: ‘I knew something such as a severed head would not only go viral but could lessen the violence.’
Mohn’s sickening YouTube video with his father’s head was viewed over 5,000 times before it was removed online, and he was arrested later that day after he scaled a fence at Fort Indiantown Gap, the state’s National Guard headquarters.
He had called on viewers to murder any relatives that worked for the federal government and believed he was starting a revolution.
A USB drive at his home was found to contain photos of federal buildings and instructions for making explosives, prosecutors said.
Mohn has admitted to killing his father but denies murder, saying that his father ‘resisted a citizen’s arrest, and it is lawful to use deadly force in that event’
Mohn often shared bizarre videos online, in which he performed music about the apocalypse and ranted about being the ‘messiah’ and the ‘President of the United States’
Mohn’s mother Denice also testified at the trial, saying that police had previously visited their home to warn Justin about his fanatical and often violent postings about the government on social media.
She said Justin and her husband had lunch together hours before the killing before she returned home to find her husband’s decapitated body, which prosecutors described as ‘something straight out of a horror film.’
He has pleaded not guilty to murdering his father, and a previous hearing found he was competent to stand trial.
Although he has admitted to killing his father, he denies murder. At a previous court appearance in September, he told reporters his father ‘was a federal employee and betrayed me. I was trying to perform a citizen’s arrest. He resisted that citizen’s arrest. It’s lawful to use deadly force in that event.’
Mohn’s trial is a bench trial, meaning only a judge will decide his fate instead of a jury.
