Andrew Hampton "Andy" Mickel was born on March 13, 1979, in Springfield, Ohio. He grew up in this city and attended North High School, where he graduated in 1998. After finishing high school, Mickel decided to serve his country by joining the U.S. Army. He became a part of the 101st Airborne Division and served for three years.

Following his time in the military, Mickel pursued higher education. He enrolled at Evergreen State College. While at the college, he became interested in journalism. After completing his studies, he became a journalist and worked with Indymedia.org.

On November 19, 2002, Andrew Mickel shot and killed Officer David Mobilio in Red Bluff, California. The shooting happened at 1:27 am while Mobilio was filling up his patrol car. Mickel shot Mobilio twice in the back and once in the head at very close range. Next to Mobilio's body, a handmade "Don't Tread on Us" flag was found.

No one witnessed the murder. The case might have gone unsolved if Mickel hadn’t posted about it on the Internet six days later. In his message, Mickel wrote, "Hello Everyone, my name's Andy. I killed a Police Officer in Red Bluff, California in a motion to bring attention to, and halt, the police-state tactics that have come to be used throughout our country." He signed the message as "Andy McCrae," which was one of his aliases.

Mickel stated that he had formed a corporation called "Proud and Insolent Youth Incorporated" before the murder. He claimed that he wanted to use the immunity of corporations for destructive purposes. The name of the corporation was inspired by a line from the novel Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie.

Mickel chose to represent himself during his trial. His parents compared him to Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber. They believed he was wrong but mentally ill. In April 2005, Mickel was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. He was sent to Death Row at San Quentin State Prison while waiting for his automatic appeal to the California Supreme Court.

In September 2009, the California Supreme Court assigned attorney Lawrence A. Gibbs to represent Mickel for his appeal. On December 19, 2016, the California Supreme Court upheld Mickel's conviction and death sentence.