On January 30, 2024, Justin Mohn attacked his father, Michael, in their home in Levittown, Pennsylvania. Mohn admitted on the stand during his trial that he shot his father in the head. He then decapitated his father and displayed his severed head on YouTube, which garnered more than 5,000 reviews before it was removed. 

After a five-day bench trial concluding on July 11, 2025, Bucks County Judge Stephen A. Corr found Justin Mohn guilty of killing his father. He was convicted on several including first- and second-degree murder, terrorism, making terroristic threats, and abusing a corpse. The judge sentenced him to two concurrent sentences of life without parole.

Admission of Guilt

Justin Mohn was found fit to stand trial, even though he claims his reasoning for murdering his father is that he interfered with his plan to overthrow the government. He took the stand in his defense and admitted to shooting his father before taking a kitchen knife and a machete to decapitate him. He showed little to no remorse for his actions but instead defended them, saying he was making a citizen’s arrest on his father, who was a valued worker of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The prosecution said Justin Mohn planned to create a militia to assist in assassinating federal officials and judges who were a ‘threat’ to his life and freedom as a cis white male. The defense did not have much to fight with since Mohn admitted to the crime. His lawyer, Steven M. Jones, said, “The defense respects the court’s verdict.” However, he did not comment on whether they would be appealing the verdict. 

The Bucks County district attorney, Jennifer Schorn, spoke during a news conference after the conviction on Friday. She claimed it was baffling how Mohn was capable of taking the life of his father, the man who raised him and his siblings inside the home where they were raised. “But then to know that he took time to sever his father’s head so that he could then create a video and share that video with countless people for one purpose,” she said. “To make sure that that video was a clear political statement that he hoped would incite violence and inflict terror on many, many individuals.”

Victim Impact Statement

Justin Mohn offered an apology to his family after his lawyer prompted him to do so. In his superficial apology, he stated, “I don’t feel guilty for what I did.” However, “I am sorry my family went through what they did because of the federal government’s actions and my reaction to it.” 

Unfortunately, there is more than one victim in this situation. Justin Mohn’s mother, Denice, wrote a victim impact statement, which was read on the final day of court. She said, “I am tortured with the knowledge of what Justin was capable of deliberately doing without remorse to his father, the man who loved him and helped him every way he could over the years and wanted only the best in life for him.” She continued, “I will carry the vision of my husband’s body crumbled and discarded on the bathroom floor that Justin left me to find until the day I die.”

Multiple people have been affected by the selfish actions of Justin Mohn, and he could not even offer a sincere apology. One has to wonder if he was mentally fit to stand trial and if he should be placed in a mental health facility rather than a prison. Judge Corr questioned Mohn’s mental state, saying, “Just because our laws say you are competent to stand trial, doesn’t mean you don’t suffer from some kind of mental infirmity.”