Ryan Harder, Rayne Crowe offered 'resolution' to Old Parliament House fire charges

Ryan Dean Harder, 40, and Rayne Orion Crowe, 22, faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday, both charged with joint commission arson and resisting a territory public official.

Harder is also accused of two counts of assaulting a front-line community service provider following the December 2021 blaze, which caused millions of dollars worth of damage.

Prosecutor Lewis Etheredge told the court his office had "made an offer of resolution" to both men last Friday.

Details of the deal were not discussed in court and Harder, who appeared via phone from his home in Victoria, sought an adjournment to discuss the offer with his wife and barrister.

Harder had previously pleaded not guilty to all charges, telling the court in June that he had been acting in "self-defence and defence of others" when he allegedly pushed police officers down the portico stairs of Old Parliament House during the December incident.

Police have accused Harder of being among 20 "sovereign citizens" who stood between first responders and the historic building, which burned after an anti-government protester carried hot coals from a ceremonial fire to the front doors.

"I had a shoulder in a copper, threw two or three of them off," Harder allegedly said in a "short monologue" posted on Instagram during the incident.

"So, good times. Never had to hurt anybody in my life until I come here and I had to throw a couple of coppers off the steps. Never had to lay a hand on anybody. Ah well, they forced their hand."

When Crowe first came before the court in April, Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker said the 22-year-old's alleged role in the incident was "not entirely clear".

Crowe has refused since then to enter pleas, and he continued to do so on Monday.

Carrying a kangaroo skin and wearing a cap, with a pair of sunglasses perched on the top, he sat at the bar table and told magistrate Beth Campbell he did not "claim any names".

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Ms Campbell offered to adjourn his case to the same date as Harder because he may "prefer to see what the other fella does", but Crowe said he would not "take a plea to a corporation that committed genocide on my people".

Crowe also claimed there had been "a perversion of justice" in his case, and challenged the prosecution to "bring forward their evidence".

Ms Campbell told Crowe the brief of evidence provided by the prosecution would contain the allegations against him, and that it would be assumed he was pleading not guilty unless he indicated otherwise.

Crowe replied that he was "just rebuttin' everything because I'm a sovereign", but he eventually agreed to have his matter adjourned alongside that of Harder.

Ms Campbell listed both cases to return to court on September 16.

Several other people have also been charged in connection with the fire.

They include Nicholas Malcolm Reed, 31, and Bruce Shillingsworth jnr, 30, both of whom have been committed to the ACT Supreme Court for trial after pleading not guilty.

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