Former Minot man sentenced to 8 months in prison for role in U.S. Capitol riot

A former Minot man has been sentenced to eight months in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Glen Mitchell Simon also faces 12 months of supervised release, a $1,000 fine and is being asked to pay $500 in restitution, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Glen Mitchell “Mitch” Simon, a Minot native, posted this photo of himself on social media after leaving the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Image from social media

Simon was arrested in Georgia in May 2021 and pleaded guilty this past spring to disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. A court document filed Friday indicated three other charges were dismissed.

At the time of the Jan. 6 riot, the FBI received tips from two witnesses about photos and video Simon had posted to his Facebook page, some of which were subsequently deleted, that included a screenshot one of the witnesses took of a photo depicting Simon outside the Capitol building with a caption that said, “post victory picture after the ramming through of the capitol building.”

Simon admitted to being the person in the photo when confronted by the FBI, though he initially denied entering the Capitol, according to a statement of facts filed in April 2021 by an FBI special agent in the case.

Federal officials, however, were able to match Simon’s photo to surveillance imagery they said shows him entering the building through the west front, Senate side of the building and inside the Capitol, according to the statement.

Rebecca Shepard, an attorney for Simon, did not respond to a phone message or email late Saturday night.

Simon, who attended Poland Regional High School before moving to Georgia and establishing a successful tree removal business, told the Sun Journal shortly after the insurrection that he headed for the nation’s capital because he wanted to “show support for the president” and counter Antifa demonstrators he thought would try to break up the pro-Trump rally.

Despite the fallout from the event, including numerous arrests and a second impeachment for former President Donald Trump, he told the newspaper he would go to Washington again.

It is important, he said, for “patriots” to let their country know “here is a group of people who love America enough to show up.”