Australia’s historic Old Parliament House caught fire Thursday during protests by a mix of activists. Reporters on the scene from 7NEWS Australia cited “conflicting reports” about the fire’s origin and the protestors’ identities.

Protestors performed a small, traditional smoking ceremony outside of the building. According to Sky News, ACT Commander Linda Champion said police approved the ceremony. In a Facebook live video, one protestor said that police caused the fire when they released pepper spray near the flames. Commander Champion said the “small amount” of pepper spray used by police did not exacerbate the flames.

Another protestor told Sky News that the group “had to burn that door down to get [its] message across.” 7NEWS video shows protestors covering security cameras with paint before the fire and attempting to enter the building while the doors burned.

The group appeared to be a combination of Indigenous activists and sovereign citizen protestors. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), sovereign citizens believe they “should decide which laws to obey and which to ignore.” The SPLC also reports that the sovereign citizen movement has “racist and antisemitic” roots. The Washington Post reported the possible involvement of the People’s Treaty, an anti-Coronavirus restriction group.

The Guardian reported that the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, a permanent protest group outside of the Old Parliament House, condemned the fire and denied any approval of destruction of public or private property.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters he is “disgusted and appalled by the behavior that would see Australians come and set fire to such a symbol of democracy.”