Latest news with #JustinMohn
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
US man gets life for beheading father as political statement and posting video
A Pennsylvania man has been ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of fatally shooting his federal government employee father, decapitating him and brandishing the severed head in an online video that called for the execution of other civil servants. Justin Mohn, 33, was sentenced on Friday after a five-day trial by a judge that found him guilty of murder and terrorism charges, Pennsylvania state prosecutors said. Mohn's conviction is the first time anyone in Pennsylvania has been found guilty under the state's terrorism statute. The local district attorney, Jennifer Schorn, said 'the chilling use of [Mohn's] father's death as a political statement' helped 'underscore the extreme danger he poses'. Among the most damning pieces of evidence in the case was a 15-minute video published on YouTube after the slaying of Michael Mohn, 68, who had long worked for the US army corps of engineers. In it, Justin Mohn, his son, spouted rightwing conspiracy theories, lobbied for militias to torture and execute his father's fellow federal government colleagues, and denounced immigration, LGBTQ+ people, the Black Lives Matter movement and antifascist activists. YouTube removed the video after it had accumulated about 5,000 views in a few hours, the Washington Post noted. Denice Mohn, Justin's mother, came home from work on 30 January 2024 to find her husband dead and beheaded in the bathroom, with a machete and a large knife nearby, said Schorn's office. An autopsy determined her husband had been shot in the head before his decapitation. Denice said at trial that she believed Justin had a normal relationship with his father, but he had struggled to retain employment after graduating from Penn State, which he blamed on the federal government and the educational system. After killing his father, Justin Mohn drove to a national guard training center, where he evidently hoped to convince troops to turn on the federal government, prosecutors alleged. He acknowledged midway through his trial that he had killed his father. But he maintained that the killing resulted from an attempted citizen's arrest that he botched when his father resisted. Prosecutor Edward Louka dismissed Justin Mohn's explanation as 'complete and utter nonsense'. 'He ambushed his dad when he was most vulnerable,' Louka said in court. 'His plan was to murder a longtime federal employee, his father, and order the murder of other federal employees for his warped belief that the government adopt his policies above all else.' After Pennsylvania state court judge Stephen A Corr returned the guilty verdict, Mohn's sister read a statement in court describing how her family felt 'violated by the defendant's extremely calculated and premeditated betrayal and from the posting of the horrifying video that he published online for thousands to see'. 'The awareness that my own brother is capable of such atrocities is terrifying,' Stephanie Mohn said in court, according to prosecutors' statement. 'That person we grew up with is long gone.' In their statement, prosecutors made it a point to allude to Michael Mohn's reputation of being 'a loving husband' as well as a 'father who was always there for his children'. 'Notably, he continued to provide significant emotional and financial support to … Justin, even into his 30s, as Justin struggled with unemployment and finding his path,' Schorn's office said of Michael. 'This tireless support underscored Michael's deep, unconditional love.'
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
US man gets life for beheading father as political statement and posting video
A Pennsylvania man has been ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of fatally shooting his federal government employee father, decapitating him and brandishing the severed head in an online video that called for the execution of other civil servants. Justin Mohn, 33, was sentenced on Friday after a five-day trial by a judge that found him guilty of murder and terrorism charges, Pennsylvania state prosecutors said. Mohn's conviction is the first time anyone in Pennsylvania has been found guilty under the state's terrorism statute. The local district attorney, Jennifer Schorn, said 'the chilling use of [Mohn's] father's death as a political statement' helped 'underscore the extreme danger he poses'. Among the most damning pieces of evidence in the case was a 15-minute video published on YouTube after the slaying of Michael Mohn, 68, who had long worked for the US army corps of engineers. In it, Justin Mohn, his son, spouted rightwing conspiracy theories, lobbied for militias to torture and execute his father's fellow federal government colleagues, and denounced immigration, LGBTQ+ people, the Black Lives Matter movement and antifascist activists. YouTube removed the video after it had accumulated about 5,000 views in a few hours, the Washington Post noted. Denice Mohn, Justin's mother, came home from work on 30 January 2024 to find her husband dead and beheaded in the bathroom, with a machete and a large knife nearby, said Schorn's office. An autopsy determined her husband had been shot in the head before his decapitation. Denice said at trial that she believed Justin had a normal relationship with his father, but he had struggled to retain employment after graduating from Penn State, which he blamed on the federal government and the educational system. After killing his father, Justin Mohn drove to a national guard training center, where he evidently hoped to convince troops to turn on the federal government, prosecutors alleged. He acknowledged midway through his trial that he had killed his father. But he maintained that the killing resulted from an attempted citizen's arrest that he botched when his father resisted. Prosecutor Edward Louka dismissed Justin Mohn's explanation as 'complete and utter nonsense'. 'He ambushed his dad when he was most vulnerable,' Louka said in court. 'His plan was to murder a longtime federal employee, his father, and order the murder of other federal employees for his warped belief that the government adopt his policies above all else.' After Pennsylvania state court judge Stephen A Corr returned the guilty verdict, Mohn's sister read a statement in court describing how her family felt 'violated by the defendant's extremely calculated and premeditated betrayal and from the posting of the horrifying video that he published online for thousands to see'. 'The awareness that my own brother is capable of such atrocities is terrifying,' Stephanie Mohn said in court, according to prosecutors' statement. 'That person we grew up with is long gone.' In their statement, prosecutors made it a point to allude to Michael Mohn's reputation of being 'a loving husband' as well as a 'father who was always there for his children'. 'Notably, he continued to provide significant emotional and financial support to … Justin, even into his 30s, as Justin struggled with unemployment and finding his path,' Schorn's office said of Michael. 'This tireless support underscored Michael's deep, unconditional love.'
Gulf Today
12-07-2025
- Gulf Today
Son sentenced to life for shooting and beheading father in US
A Pennsylvania man who posted a video of his father's severed head on YouTube was convicted of murder on Friday and sentenced to life without parole. Bucks County Judge Stephen A. Corr found Justin D. Mohn, 33, guilty in the January 2024 shooting death of his father at their home in the Philadelphia suburb of Levittown. After the sentencing, Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn told reporters Mohn had exhibited a "complete and utter lack of remorse,' calling it an "unimaginable, unfathomable crime.' "We are satisfied that this was the right outcome to guarantee that the community at large is safe from Justin Mohn,' Schorn said. His defense attorney called it an "undoubtedly difficult case to preside over." "Cases involving the loss of life are always the most difficult, and that difficulty is compounded when the prosecution seeks the death penalty. The commonwealth originally sought the death penalty in this case, and based on the defense that was presented on behalf of Mr. Mohn, my client will not face that penalty,' said Mohn's lawyer, Steven M. Jones, in an email. He declined to comment on whether Mohn will appeal. In the video posted on YouTube, Justin Mohn described his father (inset) as a 20-year federal employee and called him a traitor. Prosecutors said Mohn shot his father, Michael F. Mohn, 68, with a newly purchased pistol, then decapitated him with a kitchen knife and machete. The 14-minute YouTube video he posted was live for several hours before it was removed. Mohn testified during the trial that he shot his father while trying to arrest him on what he said were false statements and treason but his father resisted, so he fired at him. He said he severed his head to send a message to federal workers to meet his demands, which included their resignation among other things. In victim impact statements read in court Friday, family members and others recalled Michael Mohn as a loving husband and father, a man of humility and humor who enjoyed reading, exercising and playing the guitar. Justin Mohn was arrested later on the day of the murder after scaling a fence at Fort Indiantown Gap, the state's National Guard headquarters. Prosecutors said he called for others to join him in attempting to overthrow the U.S. government. Mohn had a USB device containing photos of federal buildings and apparent instructions for making explosives when he was arrested, authorities said. He also expressed violent anti-government rhetoric in writings he published online, going back several years. During the trial, the judge heard from Justin Mohn's mother, who said police came to the house he shared with his parents and warned him about his online postings before the killing. Denice Mohn testified that she and her husband had been offering financial support and guidance as Justin Mohn looked for a job. "It's unimaginable what the defendant did to his father and to his family," Schorn said. "I know this verdict does provide some level of justice, but it will never heal their wounds.' He was also convicted of possession of an instrument of crime, gun charges, criminal use of a communication facility, terroristic threats, defiant trespassing, and abuse of a corpse. Prosecutors described the homicide as "something straight out of a horror film.' They said Justin Mohn killed his father — who had been an engineer with the geoenvironmental section of the US Army Corps of Engineers' Philadelphia District — to intimidate federal workers, calling it a "cold, calculated, organised plan.' The YouTube video included rants about the government, immigration and the border, fiscal policy, urban crime and the war in Ukraine. In the video posted on YouTube, Justin Mohn described his father as a 20-year federal employee and called him a traitor. During a competency hearing last year, a defense expert said Mohn wrote a letter to Russia's ambassador to the United States seeking to strike a deal to give Mohn refuge and apologizing to President Vladimir Putin for claiming to be the czar of Russia. The judge ruled Mohn was competent to stand trial. Evidence presented at the trial included graphic photos and the video posted to YouTube. The judge warned members of the public at the trial about the images and said they could leave before the photos were shown. The proceedings are known as a bench trial, with only a judge, not a jury. Associated Press
Washington Post
12-07-2025
- Washington Post
Man who beheaded father and displayed head on YouTube sentenced to life
A Pennsylvania man who beheaded his father and then displayed the severed head in a video he uploaded to YouTube was convicted Friday on murder and terrorism charges and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Justin Mohn, 33, was found guilty of shooting his 68-year-old father, Michael Mohn, a federal employee, and then decapitating him at their suburban home on Jan. 30, 2024, Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said in a statement.
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Unhinged son Justin Mohn learns fate for decapitating father in live YouTube video
Unhinged son and conspiracy theorist Justin Mohn has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his father and showing the decapitated head in a YouTube video. Justin Mohn, 33, murdered and decapitated his father, Michael Mohn, 68, in January 2024 and left the body in their Levittown home, which is a suburb outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After the brutal slaying, Mohn held his father's head in a YouTube video and called for violent attacks against federal officials. His father served in the Army and was a federal employee with the Army Corps of Engineers. A year and a half later, Mohn has learned his fate for the stomach-churning crimes as Common Pleas Judge Stephen A. Corr delivered the verdict of guilty for first-degree murder on Friday. Mohn was also convicted of terrorism, marking the first defendant found guilty of the charges in Pennsylvania, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. In addition, the unhinged son was convicted of possession of a weapon, criminal use of a communication facility, terroristic threats, defiant trespassing, and abuse of a corpse. Prosecutors presented evidence, including the YouTube video, which was taken down hours after Mohn posted it, DNA evidence, testimony from over 15 witnesses, the son's handwritten letters from jail confessing to the crime, and a disturbing online search history. 'This case is about how Justin Mohn assassinated his father and callously used him as a prop to force the government to meet his demands,' Deputy District Attorney Ashley Towhey said in her opening statements. Powerful testimonies Mohn's mother, Denice, delivered a powerful testimony in court, noting that her husband was a loving and supportive father to their children. Denice found her husband's 'crumpled' body in their home after she returned from work on January 30. She screamed when she saw her dead husband, prompting neighbor Jim Carnley to run to the home. Carnley made the grim discovery that Michael was decapitated and called 911. The audio was played in court and revealed the disturbing screams from Denice in the background. When Middletown Township Police arrived on the scene, they found the decapitated head in the bathroom with a machete and a large knife nearby. An autopsy later revealed that Michael was first shot in the head before he was decapitated. There were no signs of defensive injuries. 'I am tortured at knowing what Justin was capable of doing to his father, who had unconditional love for him,' Denice's victim impact statement read. 'I hope Justin is never given another opportunity in his life to hurt anyone else or to distribute his hateful ideologies.' She testified that her son struggled to find employment, so she and her husband allowed him to stay in her home. Denice added that Mohn blamed the federal government for his inability to hold down a job. Mohn's sister, Stephanie, read a victim impact statement before his sentencing, telling the court, 'My whole family feels violated by the defendant's extremely calculated and premeditated betrayal and from the posting of the horrifying video that he published online for thousands to see.' 'The awareness that my own brother is capable of such atrocities is terrifying; that person we grew up with is long gone.' Mohn's brother, Zachary, spoke to his parents' 'strong set of values' and said that they consistently provided for their children. 'For him to target my father despite of all that compassion showed he did not care what he did to the world or to others,' Zachary said. 'Any show of remorse would be an appeal to emotions he doesn't feel, beyond them being used as a lever for his manipulation.' Shocking evidence Evidence was presented in court to demonstrate Mohn's violent intentions and premeditation. First Assistant District Attorney Edward Louka stated in his closing arguments that Mohn's disturbing pattern of violence extended beyond the chilling YouTube video. Letters found at the crime scene and an online history detailing extremist beliefs were used to illustrate Mohn's 'calculated intent.' Bucks County Detective Eric Landamia testified that investigators found evidence that Mohn was planning a violent attack for five years. Detectives found a 'battle plan' belonging to Mohn that included instructions for building explosives and a list of potential targets he believed were 'traitors.' The explosive evidence detailed Mohn's sick intentions to target federal judges and politicians who went against his agenda as a 'white, straight, Christian male.' A shocking 'to-do list' was also presented in the trial, where Mohn directly referenced killing his father. The YouTube video was played in court, revealing Mohn's unhinged grievances against the government. He claimed that he was the leader of 'Mohn's Militia' and called for a 'revolution,' inciting violence against federal employees. Mohn's defense Mohn testified in the trial, claiming that he didn't mean to kill his father, but only wanted to perform a citizen's arrest. He said that his father committed treason against his country. Mohn said that the altercation escalated when his father threatened to kill him. He did confess to shooting his father and using a kitchen knife and a machete to decapitate Michael on the stand. Prosecutors dismissed his defense, with First Assistant District Attorney Edward Louka calling Mohn's testimony 'complete and utter nonsense.' 'He [Mohn] ambushed his dad when he was most vulnerable … he walked in and executed him,' Louka argued. 'His plan was to murder a longtime federal employee, his father, and order the murder of other federal employees for his warped belief that the government adopt his policies above all else.' Mohn was given an opportunity to show remorse, but he declined, blaming his failures once again on the federal government. 'I don't feel guilty for what I did, but I am sorry my family went through what they did because of the federal government's actions and my reaction to it,' he said. Mohn also gave a cryptic warning to Judge Corr, telling him that he would be judged when he met God. After the verdict, Mohn said it was 'not the outcome I wanted, but it's okay,' Levittown Now reported. Mohn's defense attorney, Steve Jones, spoke to reporters outside the courtroom. He called the facts of the case 'horrendous.' 'But the key takeaway is that Justin is still alive,' Jones said, adding that the defense team prevented the prosecution from seeking the death penalty. During the trial, Jones slipped a note to Mohn, prompting the haphazard apology on the stand. When asked whether Jones pushed Mohn to apologize, the defense attorney replied, 'Whether or not he was going to apologize for anything, any remorse that he might've felt, that was up to Justin, and Justin made his feelings known in court.' Jones told reporters that Mohn was 'serious about everything he did.' He said that his team would continue to represent Mohn if he decides to appeal the decision. Jones praised Judge Corrs and said the defense respected the court's decision. He added that Mohn has 'some real mental health issues.' 'The conviction of Justin Mohn closes a dark chapter, but the scars left by his monstrous actions will undoubtedly remain,' District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said in a statement. 'This conviction reflects the tireless efforts of law enforcement and our dedicated prosecution team, who meticulously pieced together the layers of this disturbing case to ensure accountability for these horrific crimes,' the statement continued. 'While we cannot undo the pain inflicted, we hope this verdict provides some measure of justice and closure for Michael Mohn's family.'
