The trial of a Pennsylvania man accused of decapitating his father and displaying the severed head in a YouTube video began on Monday, July 7.
In connection with the death of 68-year-old Michael F. Mohn in 2024, Justin Mohn, 33, is charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, possession of an instrument of crime, and terrorism.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, officers discovered Michael’s decapitated remains in the downstairs bathroom of the family’s Levittown home on January 30, 2024.
Officers discovered a large kitchen knife and a machete in the bathtub. Michael’s head was discovered in a plastic bag inside a cooking pot in a first-floor bedroom near the bathroom, according to the affidavit.
Investigators also discovered a video titled “Mohn’s Militia-Call to Arms for American Patriots” posted on Mohn’s YouTube page.
The 14-minute video allegedly showed Mohn picking up “the decapitated head of his father Michael Mohn, identifying him by name and as his father, stating ‘He is now in hell for eternity,'” according to the affidavit.
The video allegedly “ordered all militia and patriots across the United States to kill all federal employees,” according to a press release from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
He also allegedly named several targets for capture and public execution, including specific federal officials and a United States District Court judge.
Prosecutors said Mohn’s father worked for the Army Corps of Engineers.
An autopsy revealed that Michael was shot in the head before being decapitated, according to prosecutors.
Authorities said Mohn, who was armed with a handgun, fled the scene in his father’s 2009 Toyota Corolla. He was eventually apprehended after investigators tracked him down using his cellphone to the National Guard Training Center in Fort Indiantown Gap. Prosecutors claimed Mohn was there to persuade the National Guard to turn against the federal government.
Investigators also discovered a USB device that “contained several pictures of federal buildings along with instructions that appeared to show the steps needed to make an explosive device,” according to the prosecutors.
