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Suspect in father’s decapitation ‘went off the rails’ in college, those who knew him say (www.nbcnews.com)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

56 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Justin Mohn has “been ranting and railing about the government for 10 years now and how they’re out to get him,” a childhood friend told NBC News.

The man accused of killing his father and displaying his decapitated head in a macabre YouTube video has long been obsessed with conspiracy theories, say those who knew him.

Justin Mohn, 32, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder and other counts after his father, Michael Mohn, was found beheaded in their family home in Middletown Township’s Levittown section Tuesday evening, court records show.

In a video that was removed by YouTube hours after it was posted Tuesday, the younger Mohn described his father as a federal employee of 20 years and referred to him as a traitor to his country. He also called for the death of all federal officials while allegedly displaying his father’s head.

“We’re all just in shock right now,” John Prickett, 68, who lives down the block from the Mohn residence, said Wednesday.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I have an interest in right wing extremists, and I honestly think they're way more dangerous than the crackpots they are dismissed as more generally speaking. I fear for their children greatly, because they regard them as their "biological property" (their exact words), they home school them, which mostly seems to be not educating them at all beyond conspiracy YouTube videos and Tiktok, they don't get medical care at all, of course no vaccines, and don't get birth certificates or social insurance numbers. This guy is obviously psychotic, but I'd like to just say in general I hope that CPS starts involving themselves more with such families because those kids really are in danger. Kids have died at the hands of these parents because of their dangerous disinformation. So did this father, and this really is awful..

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

I've been off the rails for a long time. I'm not violent though I'm just crazy. I like puking and screaming in a circle.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I just want to pint out the role parasociality likely plays in all this. You see it to a lessor extent in fandoms like Marvel or Star Wars, but these people have their identity all wrapped up in the things they see and hear, the talking heads and the talking heads problem.

We didn't evolve in a world of screens and taking voices. We only have so much of an ability to contextualize that the people on screens aren't us. So when some one had their entire being wrapped up in a parasocial relationship with Alex Jones or whoever, they lose the ability to distinguish what's happening to the characters or themselves. It's all the same.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Yup. The cries of "identity politics" from the right was just more projection. Because of course it was.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Good point.

But do you think parasocial identity is the cause here?

Because there is no amount of social media that is going to induce anyone I know to decapitate their father. It seems far more likely that this is an underlying mental illness (bipolar or schizophrenia) which will ALWAYS find an outlet, and which can EASILY cause violence in the victim.

That the narrative was parasocial is just a distraction.

If he had played dungeons and dragons in the 80s, he would have been a poster child for the satanic panic.

But none of that matters: we need better mental health education and resources.

No?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

It's unlikely that there is a single cause. Human behavior is complex and has many influencing factors. I think we need to be careful about armchair diagnostics but I also did that evaluation (early 20s + extreme behavior shift + paranoia and violence = schizophrenia). The mental illness messes with how you think and react, the parasocial identity focuses and reinforces the thinking and paranoia.

Yes, we absolutely need better mental health education and resources.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The parasocial relationship thing is just fuel to the fire. It may not be the cause, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous. Angry right wing conspiracy talk is like bait for people with these kinds of mental health concerns. It won't turn just anyone violent, but it obviously has served as the breaking point for a lot of people.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

I agree that parasocial influences are a terrible influence on society.

But in cultures without social media (or even more clearly: pre social media) these individuals with severe paranoia or delusions would still find reason that was relevant to their cultural context.

Often it would be religion (also a terrible influence, IMO), but in irreligious societies, it would be delusions of being Luke Skywalker; or Superman.

I'm no social media defender, but spurious associations are easy, and witch hunts are the risk.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago

It's always the person you most suspect

[–] [email protected] 88 points 9 months ago (4 children)

Justin Mohn has “been ranting and railing about the government for 10 years now and how they’re out to get him,” ...

And

Justin Mohn, 32, ...

He was at least 22 when this started, maybe earlier. That's kind of the prime time for symptoms of schizophrenia to appear, and it can happen to anyone, even you.

It is no secret that culturally approved magical thinking can mask those symptoms at best, and encourage them at worst. Religion is magical thinking, and for the last several years, so is right wing politics.

No matter who or where you are, especially when you're in your 20s, please take note of magical thinking in your own head, and check in about it with professional mental health care. This is doubly important if you are also surrounded by and influenced by other kinds of magical thinking.

Mohn is absolutely responsible for his own behaviors and actions, as are we all. But it would be irresponsible to remain blind to understanding the circumstances that brought him to those actions, so that we can take preventative measures to avoid this in the future.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

The mean thing about psychosis is that you don't realize it. For him it was reality. Mental health education is key. If you notice someone in their early or mid twenties become reclusive and feel paranoid, notice a professional. As his friends should have done in college.

Btw, under psychosis people are unfit to plead, if that's the right term. So it's difficult to call him responsible.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Mental health education is key. If you notice someone in their early or mid twenties become reclusive and feel paranoid, notice a professional

Is that a thing in America? I've never seen anyone struggling with mental health get forced treatment short of a suicide attempt.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Not from the US, but I assume not. I didn't mean forced treatment,but professionals know best how to approach this. Just telling him that his perception isn't real is most likely not gonna work.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

If there is evidence that a person is a danger to themselves or others the a police officer can forcibly take that person to a hospital for evaluation and the hospital can hold the person involuntarily for 72 hours. To hold the person for longer than 72 hours the hold must be reviewed and approved by a judge. As you might expect the system is subject to significant abuse.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Is "becoming reclusive and paranoid" sufficient for that? Or do they actually have to make some kind of threat.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

For the 72hour hold they either have to make a threat or be acting irrationality while interacting with the officer. For a court ordered hold initiated by a family member or social worker becoming reclusive and paranoid can be enough if it rises to the level of the person neglecting their own basic needs.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

You nailed it

[–] [email protected] 13 points 9 months ago

Thanks for the insight. How would you define magical thinking? Or might be helpful to phrase it as how do you recognize magical thinking?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago

A lot of genetic mental issues start with the hormonal shifts during puberty, but based on one of his book titles he was also consuming cannabis, which is definitely not great if you're already schizophrenic or psychotic, or have genetic tendencies for it.

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