A man in Pennsylvania has been charged with suspicion of first-degree murder and abusing a corpse after he uploaded a video to YouTube that appeared to show his father, a federal employee, beheaded. In the graphic video, which has since been removed, the man also went on a 14-minute tirade, espousing right-wing conspiracy theories, demanding that President Biden resign and threatening to kill federal workers.

The victim, Michael Mohn, was found deceased at an address in Levittown, Pa., on Tuesday after his wife called emergency dispatchers.

Michael Mohn’s son, Justin Mohn, 32, was arraigned at 4 a.m. Wednesday and was charged with his death, Middletown Township police chief Joe Bartorilla told The Washington Post by phone.

Justin Mohn fled the scene and was tracked down some 100 miles away by investigators who used cellphone data to locate him, Bartorilla said. “He’s in custody, so he’s not a threat,” Bartorilla said. He added that he did not think anyone else was involved in Tuesday’s killing.

In the video, Justin Mohn said his father had worked for the federal government for over 20 years and called him “a traitor.” He wore a pair of bloodstained gloves and showed a bloodied plastic bag that appeared to contain his father’s head. He also railed against immigration, the LGBT community, the Black Lives Matter movement and the antifa movement. He called for an end of the federal government and said America was being run by a network of traitors.

Bartorilla confirmed that Michael Mohn was an employee of the federal government and said police would look into the graphic video as part of the case against the son. He said he was unable to confirm whether the beheading was the cause of Michael Mohn’s death, declining to comment on the video further out of respect for his family.

When asked about a possible motive, Bartorilla said: “We don’t know yet. We have some ideas.”

The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that it is investigating the homicide along with the Middletown Township Police Department. It added that police were dispatched around 7 p.m. Tuesday after receiving the emergency call and found the deceased man in a bathroom.

“The victim’s adult son was not present when police arrived and left the area in his father’s vehicle,” the statement added.

The footage was viewed about 5,000 times before YouTube took the video down five to six hours later.

In a statement emailed to The Post early Wednesday, YouTube confirmed that the video was removed for violating the platform’s graphic-violence policy.

A spokesperson for the platform also said that Justin Mohn’s account was terminated in line with YouTube’s policies against violent extremism.

YouTube said its employees are closely tracking the platform and would be working to remove any new uploads of the video.

Justin Mohn was denied bail and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 8, according to a criminal docket filed with a magisterial district judge.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/01/31/levittown-pennsylvania-beheading-justin-mohn-youtube/