WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — A former Maine man pleaded not guilty on May 12 to federal charges stemming from the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Glen Mitchell Simon, a Minot native and owner of Omega Tree Removal in Maine, appeared in court via video on Wednesday.
Now living in Jefferson, Georgia, Simon is charged with misdemeanor counts of entering the temporary residence of the president and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Witnesses reported to the FBI the day after the riots that Mitchell had posted photos on his now-deleted Facebook page showing him inside and in front of the U.S. Capitol building, as well as video of him in the building saying, "We weren't invited, we broke in here," according to an affidavit by an FBI special agent investigating the riots.
Both witnesses, who were not identified, reported to the FBI that Simon had recently moved. The FBI determined he lived in Jefferson, Georgia, but were unable to locate him there, according to the affidavit.
When they contacted him by phone, Simon allegedly admitted he was the person in the photos outside the Capitol building, but denied he entered the building.
Mitchell is not the first person with connections to Maine to be charged in the riots. Kyle Fitzsimons of Lebanon is charged with 10 counts including assaulting an officer and disorderly conduct in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Fitzsimons has pleaded not guilty to the charges as well.
