A Levittown resident, charged with decapitating his father, claims he was attempting to carry out a citizen's arrest.
In a shocking turn of events, Justin D. Mohn, a 33-year-old man from Pennsylvania, is standing trial for the gruesome murder of his father, Michael F. Mohn, which occurred on January 30, 2024, in their family home in Levittown, a suburb of Philadelphia.
The crime, described by prosecutors as "something straight out of a horror film," was allegedly motivated by Mohn's belief that his father was obstructing his ambitions and committing treason. Mohn, who has been identified as a conspiracy theorist with a particular obsession with former President Donald Trump, claimed he intended to perform a "citizen's arrest" on his father.
According to court testimonies, Mohn shot his father in the bathroom of their home after telling him he was going to arrest him. Mohn claimed that his father, who was an experienced martial artist, reached for a gun after saying he would kill Mohn. However, Mohn maintains that his father's actions were the catalyst for his "Plan B," which involved beheading his father to send a message of intimidation to federal government workers.
Mohn's "Plan B" included lines such as "boom" and "slice" in a notebook, which he described as contingencies if the citizen's arrest failed. After shooting his father, Mohn beheaded him, an act he said was meant to pressure federal employees to resign and to cancel public debt.
Prosecutors portray the murder as a "cold, calculated, organized" act designed to intimidate federal employees. Mohn had worked for the federal government in the Army Corps of Engineers' Philadelphia District, which factored into his motives. Evidence shown in the trial also includes a USB drive found in Mohn's possession with photos of federal buildings and bomb-making instructions, suggesting broader terrorism-related intentions.
Mohn took the stand and testified for over two hours, revealing that he had a strained relationship with his parents, who he described as being on the left politically. He also mentioned that his YouTube video, which included rants about the government, immigration, fiscal policy, urban crime, and the war in Ukraine, remained visible for several hours before being taken down.
During a competency hearing last year, a defense expert testified that 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 trial is taking place in a courtroom in a suburban Philadelphia area, with the outcome eagerly awaited by both the prosecution and the defence.
In the court proceedings, Mohn's defense argues that his obsession with politics and general news, including war-and-conflicts and the war in Ukraine, were factors influencing his actions. Furthermore, the trials related to crime-and-justice and politics have revealed Mohn's extensive notes on contingencies for his citizen's arrest, hinting at his complex beliefs and intentions.
