Edson RCMP are investigating after a stolen vehicle crashed through the doors of the Alberta town's provincial building on Saturday morning.

A man stole a vehicle from the ATCO Electric lot next door, drove through the fence, then through the east entrance of the provincial building, RCMP said in a news release Saturday night. The vehicle went through the building, exiting through the west doors.

Nobody was inside at the time, said Cpl. Marcia McDermott.

Anti-Semitic messages were written throughout the building, which is home to the town's courthouse, police said. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime, McDermott said.

The suspect fled the scene.

He was taken into custody just after 11 a.m., about an hour and a half after police received a complaint of extensive damage to the building. Numerous charges are pending.

Edson is about 200 kilometres west of Edmonton.