On January 30th, 2024, Denice Mohn came home from work and found her husband Michael shot and beheaded in their bathroom. Their 33-year-old son Justin had already uploaded a video to YouTube where he held up his father's severed head and declared himself the Acting President of the United States. Six hours later, over 5,000 people had watched it. Justin became the first person ever convicted of terrorism in Pennsylvania history. This is the story of how student loan debt became a justification for murder.

A Quiet Street In Levittown

Levittown, Pennsylvania represents everything suburban America is supposed to be. Planned communities, middle-class stability, neighbors who know each other. Upper Orchard Drive in Middletown Township was one of those streets where nothing terrible was supposed to happen.

Michael Mohn was 68 years old. He worked as a civil engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Philadelphia for over 20 years. In 2019, he won an Outstanding Achievement Award that they later renamed in his honor. His neighbors knew him as a quiet guy who loved reading, exercise, and playing guitar. He and his wife Denice had three kids, including their youngest son Justin, who was 33 and still living at home.

When Failure Becomes Ideology

Justin Mohn graduated from Penn State in 2014 with a degree in agribusiness management. Then he couldn't find the high-paying job he thought he deserved. Instead of viewing this as an economic reality, Justin decided it was a conspiracy. He decided the federal government had defrauded him by letting him take out student loans for an education that didn't guarantee him wealth.

He filed at least four lawsuits against federal agencies, mostly the Department of Education. Every single lawsuit got dismissed. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed one dismissal in July 2023, noting that sovereign immunity protected the government.

Justin didn't see these dismissals as legal losses. He saw them as proof that the entire federal workforce was corrupt. Including his own father, who worked for a federal agency.

In 2017, he self-published an ebook called "The Revolution Leader's Survival Guide" advocating for peaceful government overthrow. By 2024, his writings had evolved into explicit calls for "extreme violence against all federal employees." He made music where he referred to himself as a "Messiah" and the "Czar of Russia." His ideology had shifted into full right-wing extremism, targeting federal workers, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and Black Lives Matter.

The Five Year Plan

What makes this case unsettling is that we can trace the planning back at least five years. During the trial in July 2025, detectives testified about an extensive forensic examination of Justin's online search history. The evidence showed Justin had been researching how to purchase handguns, the sound levels of gunshots, and bullet penetration through skulls. His writings included a "battle plan," instructions for building explosives, research on federal buildings, and detailed study of domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh, who killed 168 people in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Justin also created "bounty posters" targeting politicians, judges, and federal employees he deemed traitors. A to-do list found by investigators referenced the killing of his father.

People in his neighborhood knew something was wrong. During the summer of 2023, neighbors started calling police about Justin's behavior. One neighbor called multiple times after seeing Justin sit on a raised manhole cover in a local park, just staring at his house for extended periods. Other neighbors reported that Justin would walk through the neighborhood reeking of marijuana and moving strangely when anyone approached him.

Police visited the Mohn home to warn Justin about his online posts before the murder happened. They couldn't arrest him because he hadn't made direct threats.

Meanwhile, Michael and Denice kept supporting him financially and emotionally, trying to help their son find his footing.

The 24-Hour Countdown

On January 29th, 2024, Justin surrendered his medical marijuana card. In Pennsylvania, if you have that card, you can't pass a background check to buy a gun. So Justin gave up his card, walked into a gun store, and legally purchased a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun. He paid over $1,300 for the gun, an optic scope, a grip, and ammunition.

That same day, he wrote in a notebook what he called "Plan A" and "Plan B." Plan A involved a delusional "citizen's arrest" of his father for "treason." Plan B was more direct. He wrote "Boom" and "Slice." Prosecutors explained that "Boom" meant the gunshot. "Slice" meant the decapitation.

This was happening 24 hours before the murder.

January 30th, 2024

On the evening of January 30th, Denice came home from work around 7:00 PM. Her husband was in the first-floor bathroom. He'd been shot in the head near his ear, then decapitated with a kitchen knife and machete.

Michael's body was in the bathroom. His head was in a separate bedroom, placed inside a plastic bag that was then put into a cooking pot. The weapons were in the bathtub. Justin had left bloody rubber gloves in a trash can and on a desk.

Denice's screams were heard by a neighbor who ran over to help. His 911 call captured the chaos. Denice immediately suspected her son.

The YouTube Manifesto

Before Denice got home, Justin had already uploaded a 14-minute video to YouTube. The title was "Mohn's Militia - Call to Arms for American Patriots." In the video, Justin appeared calm. He wore rubber gloves matching the ones found at the crime scene. He held up his father's severed head twice to "identify the traitor."

He declared himself the "Acting President of the United States" and the leader of a national militia. He called for violent uprising against all federal employees, specifically targeting the FBI, U.S. Marshals, and Border Patrol. His alt-right rhetoric attacked the LGBTQ+ community, Black Lives Matter, and what he called "far-left woke mobs."

He leaked the name and home address of a federal judge and placed a bounty on the judge's head. He demanded mass resignation of federal workers and immediate cancellation of all public debt.

This video stayed on YouTube for six hours. It got over 5,000 views before being taken down. It spread to Telegram and Twitter. Some people online started claiming it was a "psyop" or "false flag." The conspiracy theorists Justin hoped would follow him decided his actual murder was fake.

The Failed Revolution

After uploading the video, Justin got in his father's Toyota Corolla and drove about 100 miles west to Fort Indiantown Gap, the headquarters of the Pennsylvania National Guard. His plan was to walk onto a military base and convince the soldiers to mobilize against the federal government.

He drove past barricades and climbed a 20-foot security fence before being arrested. He still had the Sig Sauer 9mm on him, along with survival gear, camping equipment, and a USB drive containing photographs of federal buildings and detailed instructions for making explosives.

The murder of Michael Mohn was supposed to be the opening act.

The Trial and Verdict

The defense raised questions about Justin's mental health during a competency hearing. They presented evidence of his detachment from reality, including a letter he'd written to the Russian ambassador apologizing to Vladimir Putin for previously claiming to be the Czar of Russia. He hoped for a prisoner swap so he could find asylum in Russia.

The court ruled he was competent to stand trial. Justin waived his right to a jury trial.

The trial happened in July 2025. Prosecutors presented over 200 pieces of evidence and testimony from 15 witnesses including Denice.

Justin took the stand. He was remarkably calm and emotionless. He stuck to his citizen's arrest story, claiming he only used deadly force when his father "resisted." He said he beheaded his father because he knew a severed head would "go viral" and force the government to meet his demands. He said "I knew something such as a severed head would not only go viral but could lessen the violence." He stated he didn't do it out of hatred or to cause trauma to his family, but out of duty to his country.

Prosecutors argued that Justin "preyed" on his parents' concern and compassion, that his plan was always to kill his father, and the citizen's arrest narrative was invented after his arrest.

On July 11th, 2025, Justin Mohn was found guilty of first-degree murder, two counts of terrorism, abuse of a corpse, and firearms violations. The terrorism conviction was historic. Justin Mohn became the first person ever convicted under Pennsylvania's terrorism statute.

He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

During sentencing, Michael's family delivered emotional impact statements. His son Zachary described a father who worked tirelessly to make sure his kids never wanted for anything. His daughter Stephanie talked about the "premeditated betrayal."

Justin's defense attorney had to prompt him to apologize. He said he was sorry "that this played out how it played out." He said he didn't feel guilty and felt like his actions were justice. He blamed the federal government.

What This Case Means

This case set a legal precedent in Pennsylvania for how states can prosecute domestic extremists who use violence to intimidate government workers. It expands terrorism charges beyond foreign-linked groups to include people radicalized by right-wing extremism, internet conspiracy theories, and personal grievances.

Justin Mohn's radicalization shows how personal failure can be weaponized into alt-right ideology. He couldn't get the job he wanted, so he decided the entire government was corrupt. He lost his lawsuits, so he decided his father was a traitor. He researched Timothy McVeigh, a man who killed 168 people including 19 children. When you spend five years convincing yourself that your family members are enemies of the state, there's no limit to what you'll justify.

The Army Corps of Engineers named their Outstanding Achievement Award after Michael Mohn. His wife Denice wrote to the court that she lost both a husband and a son that night. They'd been planning to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. They wanted to travel to Ireland together in retirement.

Justin Mohn will spend the rest of his life in prison for a crime he still believes was justice.