A 30-year-old Victorian man has been charged with arson and damaging property after a fire that police will allege was deliberately lit at Old Parliament House last Thursday (30 December 2021).
ACT Policing detectives made the arrest yesterday at about 8:20 pm and the man is expected to face the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday (4 January 2022).
This arrest is in addition to three other arrests made on Saturday (1 January 2022) by ACT Policing. That trio faced court on Sunday (2 January 2022).
One of the three was charged with three counts of assaulting a frontline service provider, the second was charged with one count of assaulting a frontline service provider and the third was charged with hindering a Territory official.
An ACT Policing spokesperson said last Thursday there had been ongoing protest activity at the front of Old Parliament House for the past fortnight.
The building has now been damaged by fire twice in the last two weeks.
The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House will now be closed for the foreseeable future due to fire and water damage.
The taskforce under Operation Pike will continue investigations to identify other people involved in the fire and further arrests may occur.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the?Crime Stoppers ACT website.