
Pennsylvania man accused of beheading father and posting gory video to stand trial
Justin D. Mohn, 33, faces charges of murder, abuse of a corpse, terrorism related crimes and other offenses for the 2024 killing of Michael F. Mohn at the Levittown home where they lived with the defendant's mother. She found her husband's body in a bathroom.
Prosecutors have said Justin Mohn shot his father with a newly purchased pistol, then decapitated him with a kitchen knife and machete. The 14-minute YouTube video was live for several hours before it was removed.
Mohn was armed with a handgun when arrested later that day after allegedly climbing a 20-foot (6-meter) fence at Fort Indiantown Gap, the state's National Guard headquarters. He had hoped to get the soldiers to 'mobilize the Pennsylvania National Guard to raise arms against the federal government,' Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said at a news conference last year.
Mohn had a USB device containing photos of federal buildings and apparent instructions for making explosives when arrested, authorities have said.
He also had expressed violent anti-government rhetoric in writings he published online, and the YouTube video included rants about the government, immigration and the border, fiscal policy, urban crime and the war in Ukraine.
Mohn's defense attorney, Steven M. Jones, said last week he did not anticipate the case being resolved with a plea deal.
Michael Mohn, who was 68, had been an engineer with the geoenvironmental section of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In the video, 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 a deal to give Mohn refuge and apologizing to President Vladimir Putin for claiming to be the czar of Russia.
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NBC News
3 hours ago
- NBC News
Southern California bishop suspends Mass obligation due to immigration fears
LOS ANGELES — San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas, who leads more than 1.5 million Catholics in Southern California, has formally excused parishioners from their weekly obligation to attend Mass following immigration detentions on two parish properties in the diocese. The dispensation is a move usually reserved for extenuating circumstances, like the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. But Rojas says it's necessary because the fear of being apprehended and possibly deported has swept communities, including Catholic churches. "There is a real fear gripping many in our parish communities that if they venture out into any kind of public setting they will be arrested by immigration officers," Rojas said in a statement Wednesday. "Sadly, that includes attending Mass. The recent apprehension of individuals at two of our Catholic parishes has only intensified that fear. I want our immigrant communities to know that their Church stands with them and walks with them through this trying time." Save for a serious reason, Catholics are obligated by their faith to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation. In May, the Diocese of Nashville in Tennessee issued a similar statement following immigra tion enforcement actions in the area, excusing those fearful of attending Mass from their holy obligation, though it was not named as a formal dispensation. Rojas is an immigrant himself. He was born and raised in Aguascalientes, Mexico. He has been consistent in his support of immigrants and said when he assumed this role that it would be one of his top priorities. In early June, the Trump administration significantly ramped up immigration arrests and raids in Southern California, particularly in Los Angeles, with federal agents conducting sweeps in workplaces and public spaces and apprehending hundreds. Last month, as federal agents made arrests and the federal government deployed the National Guard to maintain order amid protests in Los Angeles, Rojas issued a statement calling out federal agents entering parish properties and "seizing several people," creating an environment of fear and confusion. "It is not of the Gospel of Jesus Christ — which guides us in all that we do," he said. "I ask all political leaders and decision-makers to please reconsider these tactics immediately in favor of an approach that respects human rights and human dignity and builds toward a more lasting, comprehensive reform of our immigration system." Created in 1978, the diocese serves over 1.5 million Catholics in Riverside County, which is 52.5% Latino, and San Bernardino County, which is 56.4% Latino, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. Members of local parishes who are in the U.S. without documents have made positive contributions to their communities "with no other issues than their legal status," the bishop said. "Most of them are here because they wanted to save their families; they had no other option. I believe that they would love to be legalized, but who can help them?" Rojas said he knows these people would be in church but for the threat to their safety and their family unity. "With all the worry and anxiety that they are feeling I wanted to take away, for a time, the burden they may be feeling from not being able to fulfill this commitment to which our Catholic faithful are called," Rojas said. Pastor Omar Coronado with Inland Congregations United for Change, a faith-based nonprofit serving Riverside and San Bernardino counties, called the bishop's decree "an extraordinary act of moral courage and pastoral care." At a time when so many families are living in fear and uncertainty, the Bishop's voice offers not just protection but hope," he said in a statement. "We're deeply grateful for his leadership in reminding us that faith is not meant to hide behind walls, but to stand with the vulnerable." The Diocese of San Bernardino is the nation's fifth-largest Catholic diocese and second-largest in California next to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which is the largest in the country with about 5 million members. Neither the Los Angeles Archdiocese nor the neighboring Diocese of Orange, which serves about 1.3 million Catholics, has issued similar dispensations. A spokesperson for the Diocese of Orange said they have in recent weeks taken steps to support the immigrant community, including asking priests to bring Communion and celebrate Mass in the homes of those who are fearful of leaving their homes. The diocese has also shared protocols with parishes and Catholic schools to help them prepare and respond properly to the presence of immigration officials on church or school grounds, he said. In addition, the diocese is also coordinating efforts to have priests and deacons accompany and spiritually support people at immigration court hearings. Parishes under the Archdiocese of Los Angeles are also continuing to "provide outreach to families and individuals that have been impacted," an archdiocese spokesperson said.


The Independent
6 hours ago
- The Independent
Pennsylvania man charged with beheading father says he was trying to perform a citizen's arrest
The Pennsylvania man charged with fatally shooting then beheading his father and posting it on YouTube said on the stand Wednesday that the killing was 'Plan B' after trying to arrest his father for what he called false statements and treason. Justin D. Mohn, 33, took the stand in a suburban Philadelphia courtroom on the third day of his trial on murder and other charges stemming from the Jan. 30, 2024, homicide of his father Michael F. Mohn. Mohn, dressed in a blue sport coat, shirt and tie, with his arms shackled to his waist, spoke clearly without any apparent emotion for more than two hours of direct testimony and cross examination. Responding to questions from his attorney, Steven Jones, Mohn said he shot his father in the bathroom of the family's Levittown home after telling him he was going to arrest him. Mohn said his father, who he said was an experienced martial artist, told him he would kill him before he let that happen and reached for the gun. 'Unfortunately, he resisted,' Justin Mohn said, adding: 'I was hoping to perform a citizen's arrest on my father for, ultimately, treason." He described a list from his notebook, shone during the trial, that had the lines 'Boom' and 'Slice' as his ' Plan B,' and said he expected his father to go along with the citizen's arrest. He said he differed politically from his parents, describing them as on the left. He told the court he believed his father wanted to stop him from becoming a politician similar to President Donald Trump and that his father gave false statements in an unrelated civil case Justin Mohn brought in federal court. Asked why he beheaded his father, he said he wanted to send a message to federal government workers to meet his demands, which included their resignation as well as the cancellation of public debt, among other things. He said he didn't do it out of hatred for his father or to cause trauma to his family. His mother, Denice Mohn, cried in court at the end of the direct questioning from his attorney. 'I knew something such as a severed head would not only go viral but could lessen the violence,' Justin Mohn said. Prosecutors said Mohn shot his father 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 was arrested later that day after scaling a fence at Fort Indiantown Gap, the state's National Guard headquarters. He said in court he knew it was wrong to jump the fence at the site. 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. Earlier in 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. 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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Philadelphia District — to intimidate federal workers, calling it a 'cold, calculated, organized plan.' The YouTube video included rants about the government, immigration and the border, fiscal policy, urban crime and the war in Ukraine. In court, Michael Mohn was remembered as a good neighbor and supportive father. 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.


Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Daily Mail
'Neo-Nazi' who bought gun from undercover MI5 agent Googled for living relatives of Adolf Hitler, court hears
A 'Neo-Nazi' teenager allegedly caught buying a gun for a terror attack in an MI5 sting searched for living relatives on Adolf Hitler and viewed extreme right-wing material in his bedroom, a court has heard. Alfie Coleman was aged 19 when he was arrested by counter terrorism police in a Morrisons car park moments after sourcing a Makarov pistol and ammunition in September 2023. Now aged 21, the defendant, from Great Notley in Essex, has admitted attempting to possess both a firearm and ammunition but denied he was preparing for a terrorist attack. On Wednesday, Coleman described being unhappy and suffering with his mental health at school and college, where he studied for a B Tech in business. But he said he did not always go into college when he was meant to and he did not have any friends there that he would talk to outside of college. Coleman said he spent more and more time in his bedroom on Telegram, not going outside, and isolated himself from his family. He said he would have Googled for living relatives of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler whilst watching a YouTube video, adding that he has an interest in history. His barrister Tana Adkin KC asked him: 'Did you ever intend to commit an act of terrorism?' Coleman denied it and added that he never intended to hurt anyone. Coleman, now aged 21, of Great Notley in Essex, has pleaded guilty to attempting to possess both a firearm and ammunition but has denied he was preparing for a terrorist attack Giving evidence at the Old Bailey, Coleman told jurors how he grew up with his parents and older sister in Braintree, Essex. Asked if he had any problems at secondary school, he said: 'I was struggling with my mental health at the time, aged 13 to 14.' He went to the doctor but refused the offer of counselling because he 'didn't feel like anybody would understand'. Just before the Covid pandemic struck, Coleman said his mental health was still 'not very good'. He told jurors: 'I felt very lonely, isolated, I guess. Despite the fact I was offered help I just didn't want it.' Coleman told jurors how he would spend hours a day in his bedroom playing Call Of Duty on Xbox and viewing content about conspiracy theories on TikTok. He told jurors he could not remember using his iPhone to search for the Klu Klux Klan when he was aged 14 but said it could be linked to a documentary he had seen on YouTube. At the time, Coleman said he was interested in history and 'military-related' content, jurors heard. Coleman was asked about writing down the Lord Mayor of London's address in a note entitled 'Important Stuff'. The prosecution has alleged Coleman identified the 'Mayor of London house' as an initial target and included the postcode of the Lord Mayor of London in an early abandoned attack plan. However, Coleman told jurors he probably found the address on a video about Ulez he had seen on TikTok in 2020. Coleman (pictured) has accepted having a significant quantity of extreme right-wing material and pleaded guilty to possessing 10 documents which contain information likely to be useful to terrorists Asked why he made a note of it, the defendant replied: 'I don't know. I don't remember doing it myself. It was so long ago.' On how he was affected by the first lockdown in March 2020, he said: 'My whole school year was cancelled and there was no formal school for the rest of that year basically. 'Up until late 2020 when I started going to college there was no school. 'I didn't really like school at that time. I was not attending often. I was pretty lonely.' By early 2021, Coleman said he was spending 'a lot of time' on the internet and had discovered Telegram. He initially deleted it because the content about the extreme right-wing and firearms 'was a bit strong', he said. He soon returned to it, he said: 'Mainly I was just looking, I wasn't interacting at that point.' Asked how his mental health was then, he said: 'Pretty bad, I'd say. Started taking medication around that time not prescribed for me.' He took an overdose of pills which made him 'sleepy' but told jurors he 'got away with it' by staying in his room and not telling his family what had happened. Coleman told jurors that from then on the content he was viewing 'snowballed' as he viewed material about Germany and the Nazis as well as knives and firearms. He said he was following a lot of channels, some of which related to extreme right-wing material and which 'overlapped' with information on Nazis and Hitler. Previously, the court has heard that Coleman had accepted he had a significant quantity of extreme right-wing material and has pleaded guilty to possessing 10 documents which contain information likely to be useful to terrorists. The defendant does not dispute writing a text bearing similarities to other 'manifestos' written by convicted extreme right-wing terrorists nor that he engaged in chat on Telegram and Wire with people who proclaimed extreme right-wing views and idolised Hitler, jurors have heard.