An anti-vaccine mandate protest organiser had a map of Parliament House when he was arrested with a loaded gun, police say.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw has also told senate estimates on Monday night a number of "troublemakers" descended on the capital to incite violence on Saturday.
Hundreds of police were deployed to Parliament House during a mass rally on Saturday, the biggest anti-vaccine mandate protest since the Convoy to Canberra movement descended on Canberra a fortnight ago.
Commissioner Kershaw revealed a man arrested with a loaded weapon and ammunition also had plans for the building.
"Some of those are publicly available. But it was just, of course, of interest to us," he said.
Commissioner Kershaw did not answer directly when Labor home affairs spokesman Kristina Keneally suggested the map demonstrated "intent", but accepted authorities were "concerned" by the discovery.
Police later confirmed the man was doomsday prepper James Greer, 44, arrested on the lawns of the National Library as police cleared away an illegal campsite on February 4.
When police executed the warrant, they allegedly discovered a .22 bolt-action rifle and 124 rounds of ammunition in a cupboard towards the back of his camouflage-coloured truck.
Saturday's rally attracted up to 10,000 people and was largely peaceful. But a man was arrested after allegedly driving his truck through a barricade, with officers needing to smash a window to extricate him.
Commissioner Kershaw said the Convoy to Canberra, which swelled in numbers over the weekend, posed a particular challenge for law enforcement.
READ MORE:
While the protesters were "overall pretty well behaved", police had intelligence over a number of "troublemakers" with a propensity for violence, he said.
"These are people who, for us, would be in the criminal sphere ... We had specific information on some of those," he said.
Monitoring the protest movement, made up disparate groups often with varying aims, was a complex task for law enforcement.
Commissioner Kershaw said the AFP worked with state police intelligence agencies to monitor a major influx of interstate protesters arriving on Friday evening and Saturday.
"We were concerned when the number started to swell, and then some of the intentions were not clear. They were not a coordinated group, which actually presents a different challenge for us," he said.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram