The Museum of Australian Democracy (MoAD), previously Old Parliament House, was allegedly broken into by a Watson man early Tuesday morning.
ACT Policing put out a statement on the incident, saying it responded to reports a man had smashed glass doors.
“After a brief search of the premises, during which the man was unable to be located, an announcement was made on the building’s internal PA system advising the man to make his way to the main lobby,” a statement read.
The man told police he thought people were trapped inside the building and that he was attempting to help them.
The man has been placed under arrest, and was due at the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday, charged with tresspassing on commonwealth property and two counts of damaging commonwealth property.
MoAD took to its Instagram account to address the situation, saying the damage was to its front windows, reception area, a set of the lower floor doors, and one of its female toilets.
“A full heritage assessment will be done of the damage once the forensic team have finished their work,” the Instagram post read.
The museum remains open, with an alternative entry available to open.
The alleged trespassing marked a string of unfortunate events at the museum, with the doors set on fire in December last year by alt-right protests, causing $4 million worth of damage.
Earlier this year, then MoAD director Daryl Karp told The Mandarin a public servant had found a piece from the door handles in charred rubble after the fire.
“We found it, and even more exciting, it can be restored again,” Karp said.
“These are just those lovely little things that make you feel that history will continue and this will now become part of the story.”
MoAD managed to reopen four months after the fire and was able to be used as a polling place for the federal election this year.
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