Minot native pleads not guilty to charges related to Jan. 6 siege

May 19—Minot native Glen Mitchell "Mitch" Simon pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Simon, 30, of Jefferson, Georgia, was arrested on May 5 after surrendering himself to the U.S. Marshals Service. He was charged with knowingly entering a restricted building and with violent entry and disorderly conduct in the Capitol two weeks before the inauguration of President Joe Biden.

Court records show that federal agents seized Simon's cellphone when he was arrested and that a "forensic analysis of [the] device remains ongoing," the Sun Journal reported.

Simon initially admitted to being outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 but denied entering the building, according to a complaint. FBI agents identified him from surveillance video in the Rotunda and the Statuary Hall.

Simon is due back in court on June 25, the Sun Journal reported.

He is not the first person from Maine to be charged in connection to the insurrection.

Kyle Fitzsimons, 37, of Lebanon, is facing 10 charges in connection with his participation in the events. Those counts include separate alleged assaults on two different police officers.

Fitzsimons has been held without bail since his arrest in February at his home.