Alleged Old Parliament House arsonist Nicholas Reed fined in regional court over separate charge
The man charged with lighting a blaze at Old Parliament House appeared in a regional court faced with another charge linked to protest activity.
A man charged with deliberately setting fire to Old Parliament House faced a separate charge in Victoria over allegations he was in a restricted area during protest activity.
Nicholas Malcolm Reed, whose identity was revealed in January this year after a suppression order on his name was lifted, had his matter briefly heard in Ararat Magistrates Court last week. He faced one charge of being in a restricted access area without having a reasonable excuse.
Court documents state that on October 27, 2020, police attended the Djab Wurrung Embassy campsite on the Western Highway in Dobie.
Protesters have camped at the site in Victoria since 2018 to defend culturally significant trees, including some where Djab Wurrung women have traditionally gone to give birth.
A local police officer approached the group and told them the campsite was in a restricted access area and any person who did not leave within a particular timeframe would be arrested, court documents state.
Mr Reed was accused of refusing to leave the site. He was escorted out of the area before being arrested and charged.
He was sentenced in Ararat last week and slapped with a $200 fine.
Mr Reed is also accused of carrying “hot coals” to the front of Old Parliament House and was captured in social media footage “stoking” the fire.
The ACT Magistrates Court was previously told that Mr Reed had a pending legal matter in Victoria.
An ambassador from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy said Mr Reed was not associated with them and would have been part of a different camp set up there.
“We’re not aligned with one another, we’re all about diplomacy and respect,” the ambassador said.
Mr Reed faces charges of arson, damaging commonwealth property, assaulting a frontline community service provider and resisting a territory public official.
He remains on bail and his matter will return to court in March.