Justin Mohn is now charged with murder.
A 32-year-old man in the United States accused of beheading his father – and posting a gruesome video seemingly showing him holding up the head amid a politically charged rant – was arrested on Tuesday. According to CNN, the video circulated for hours on YouTube before it was taken down. Justin Mohn was taken into custody hours after allegedly beheading his 68-year-old father Michael Mohn at their home in Pennsylvania. The 33-year-old is being held without bond, charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and possessing an instrument of crime with intent.
According to CNN, police responded to the scene after receiving a “call of a deceased male”. Justin Mohn’s mother, Denice, called 911 after finding her husband’s headless body in their home. She reportedly said that she was last in the house at 2 pm and when she returned, she noticed her son and her husband’s 2009 Toyota Corolla was nowhere to be found.
“The call to emergency dispatchers came from the victim’s wife. When officers arrived, they located the male deceased in the bathroom,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. “The victim’s adult son was not present when police arrived and left the area in his father’s vehicle,” the statement added.
Cops found a machete and a large kitchen knife in the bathtub. They located Michael Mohn’s head inside a plastic bag which was inside a cooking pot in a first-floor bedroom next to the bathroom. Officers also found “bloody rubber gloves” in both a separate first-floor bedroom and in a trashcan beside a desk.
In the affidavit, police cite a video posted on video YouTube by the 32-year-old. In the clip, the man identifies himself as Justin Mohn and apparently reads from a written statement and at one point holds up what appears to be a bloodied head inside a clear plastic bag.
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In the clip, he says his father, who was a federal employee for over 20 years, was a traitor to his country. “America is rotting from the inside out as far left, woke mobs rampage out once prosperous cities,” he says in the now-deleted video.
According to The Independent, the 32-year-old bashed US President Joe Biden, the Black Lives Matter Movement and the LGBTQ community in the video. He also urged Americans to attack federal workers, journalists and federal law enforcement.
A YouTube spokesperson said it has strict policies prohibiting graphic violence and violent extremism”. “The video was removed for violating our graphic violence policy and Justin Mohn’s channel was terminated in line with our violent extremism policies. Our teams are closely tracking to remove any re-uploads of the video,” they said.
The 32-year-old was found “hours later” in Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania – more than 100 miles from his home – and taken into custody. “He was armed at the time but did not resist arrest,” cops said. He was arraigned early Wednesday via video. A judge ordered him held without bond. His next hearing is set for February 8.