A man accused of beheading his father in the US state of Philadelphia posted a gruesome video on social media that shows him holding up the severed head, authorities said Wednesday.
Justin Mohn, 32, who is charged with first-degree murder, was armed and had jumped a fence at a National Guard facility about 160 kilometers away when he was arrested late Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. The father, identified as Michael F. Mohn, was found decapitated in the bathroom of the home in Levittown where his son also lived, the report said.
The YouTube video, more than 14 minutes long, showed Justin Mohn picking up the head and identifying his father by name. Police said it appeared he was reading from a script as he encouraged violence against government officials and called his father a traitor to his country. “We are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of our teammate Michael Mohn. … Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mohn family and we are focused on supporting our grieving employees at this time,” the district said in a statement.
A machete and bloody gloves
Police said Michael Mohn’s wife, Denice Mohn, arrived home and found the body about 7 p.m. Tuesday. Officers found the body, a machete and bloody rubber gloves, according to a police affidavit. Denice Mohn told police her husband’s white Toyota Corolla and her son were missing.
In a statement, YouTube said the video, which was uploaded and not livestreamed, was removed for violating its graphic violence policy and Justin Mohn’s channel was shut down. Police said the video was online for about five hours, according to AP. Mohn, who also was arrested on a weapons possession charge, was arraigned Wednesday and held without bail with a hearing scheduled for Feb. 8. Police and prosecutors were expected to release additional details at a news conference Friday.
Mohn embraced violent anti-government rhetoric in writings he published online going back several years. In August 2020, Mohn published an online “pamphlet” in which he tried to make the case that people born in or after 1991, his birth year, should carry out what he termed a “bloody revolution.” He also complained at length about a lawsuit that he lost and encouraged assassinations of family members and public officials.
In the video posted after the killing, he described his father as a 20-year federal employee. US media reported that he also espoused rants about immigration and the border, fiscal policy, urban crime and the war in Ukraine. Mohn drove his father’s car to Fort Indiantown Gap, where he was taken into custody, Capt. Pete Feeney of the Middletown Township Police Department said. He was walking and had a gun when he was caught, Watson said.
(With agency inputs)
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