Justin Mohn: How Right-Wing Radicalization Led to Father's Beheading
10 Minute Murder | Bingeable True Crime Stories
Joe
4.9 • 638 Ratings
🗓️ 19 February 2026
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On January 30, 2024, 68-year-old Michael Mohn, a civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was shot and beheaded in his Levittown, Pennsylvania home by his 33-year-old son Justin Mohn. The murder investigation revealed forensic evidence including a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol purchased 24 hours before the killing, a notebook containing detailed plans labeled "Boom" and "Slice," and online search history going back at least five years showing research on handgun purchases, bullet penetration of skulls, and explosive-making instructions. Justin then uploaded a 14-minute YouTube video titled "Mohn's Militia - Call to Arms for American Patriots" where he held up his father's severed head twice, declared himself "Acting President," leaked a federal judge's home address, and called for the execution of all federal employees.
Justin Mohn became the first person ever convicted under Pennsylvania's terrorism statute. His years-long radicalization into right-wing extremism involved four failed lawsuits against the Department of Education over student loans, self-published manifestos calling for government overthrow, and research on domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh. After the killing, he drove 100 miles to a National Guard base carrying explosive recipes on a USB drive, believing soldiers would join his revolution. In July 2025, he received two consecutive life sentences without parole. Prosecutors revealed his online history showed he'd been planning violence for at least five years.
#JustinMohn #LevittownMurder #MichaelMohn #PennsylvaniaTerrorism #TrueCrimePodcast #DomesticTerrorism #MohnsMilitia
🔔 Subscribe for True Crime Cases multiple times a week
Never miss a story. Subscribe to 10 Minute Murder for bite-sized true crime episodes delivered fresh every week.
Get a weekly email from me about the upcoming cases and more: 10minutemurder.com/newsletter
📱 Follow for Behind-the-Scenes Content Get exclusive case updates, research photos, and sneak peeks of upcoming episodes:
- Instagram: @10minutemurder on IG
- Facebook: 10 Minute Murder on FB
- TikTok: 10 Minute Murder on TikTok
- Rate & Review: Leave a 5-star review to help other true crime fans discover the show
- Share: Send this episode to fellow true crime enthusiasts
- Join the Discussion: Tag us in your episode reactions on social media
Check out True Crime Blueprint, also created and hosted by Joe.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/43zuDpH01HtdIrH0ShCAid?si=86b2281063334139
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-blueprint/id1877878404
iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/323307878
Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b7d5eaae-9d27-40f9-8efb-6864c2af8055
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/show/1002664071
Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/true-crime-blueprint/6785639
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/true-crime-blueprint-6381660
Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-blueprint--6879387
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/1113943
Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/true-crime-blueprint/PC:1001113943
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/10-minute-murder-bingeable-true-crime-stories--4603604/support.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | On January 30th, 2024, Denise Mowen came home from work and found her husband Michael shot |
| 0:07.4 | and beheaded in their bathroom. |
| 0:10.2 | Their 33-year-old son, Justin, had recently uploaded a video to YouTube where he held |
| 0:15.2 | his father's severed head up and declared himself the acting president of the United States. |
| 0:24.1 | Six hours later, over 5,000 people had watched it. |
| 0:28.9 | Justin became the first person ever convicted of terrorism in Pennsylvania history. |
| 0:34.5 | This is the story of how student loan debt became a justification for murder. Leverickety-town Levittown, Pennsylvania represents everything suburban America is supposed to be. |
| 1:03.0 | Planned communities, middle-class stability, neighbors who know each other. |
| 1:07.8 | Uppard Orchard Drive and Middletown Township was one of those streets where nothing |
| 1:11.7 | terrible was supposed to happen. Michael Mowen was 68 years old. He worked as a civil engineer for the |
| 1:18.2 | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Philadelphia for over 20 years. In 2019, he won an outstanding |
| 1:25.0 | achievement award that they later renamed in his honor. |
| 1:28.5 | Neighbors knew him as a quiet guy who loved to read, exercise, and play the guitar. |
| 1:32.9 | He and his wife, Denise, had three kids, including their youngest son, Justin, who was 33 and still |
| 1:38.5 | living at home. |
| 1:39.8 | Justin Mone graduated from Penn State in 2014 with a degree in agribusiness management. |
| 1:46.0 | Then he couldn't find a high-paying job that he thought he deserved. |
| 1:49.4 | Instead of viewing this as an economic reality, Justin decided it was a conspiracy. |
| 1:55.6 | He decided the federal government had defrauded him by letting him take out student loans for an education that did not |
| 2:02.0 | guarantee him wealth. He filed at least four lawsuits against federal agencies, mostly the Department |
| 2:08.1 | of Education. Every single lawsuit got dismissed. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed one |
| 2:14.4 | dismissal in July 23, noting that sovereign immunity protected the government. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Joe, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Joe and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.