In a case that has captivated Bucks County and the nation, Justin Mohn, who is accused of the beheading death of his father, asserted his actions were “lawful” following a preliminary hearing at the Bucks County Justice Center on Tuesday.
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The hearing for Mohn, 32, took place at the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown before District Judge Charles Jonas. The judge forwarded charges of murder in the first degree, abuse of a corpse, possession of an instrument of crime, terrorism, robbery, firearms not to be carried without a license, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, criminal use of a communication facility, terroristic threats, and defiant trespassing, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
The hearing took place weeks after a judge declared Mohn was mentally competent to stand trial.
According to a video posted by Vinny Vella, a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mohn said the federal government had “betrayed America” and his father’s death came during a citizens arrest. He added that “it was lawful to use deadly force in that event.”
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Similar to statements made in a YouTube video allegedly made minutes after he cut the head of his father, Michael, off, Mohn told reporters as he was walked to a sheriff’s office SUV that his dad “resisted arrest” and “betrayed me.”
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Parts of the gruesome and bizarre YouTube video were played in court during the preliminary hearing.
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Authorities detailed that on January 30, Mohn fatally shot his 68-year-old father inside the family’s home on Upper Orchard Drive in Middletown Township’s Levittown section using a gun he had purchased legally the day prior in Bristol Township.
After the shooting, Mohn used a knife and machete to decapitate his father, police said.
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Mohn then fled the scene in his father’s car and was later arrested at the Fort Indiantown Gap Pennsylvania National Guard training complex near Harrisburg by base and state police, authorities said.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
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Investigators alleged that Mohn attempted to rally support for overthrowing the federal government. He also targeted President Joe Biden, a federal judge, and other officials.
A search of the Mohn family home uncovered a 9mm shell casing, the weapons used in the crime, and evidence suggesting plans to disseminate his message online, authorities said.
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At the time of his arrest, Mohn was found with a USB device containing photos of federal buildings and bomb-making instructions.
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