A group of climate activists with Extinction Rebellion Boston were arrested at the State House Wednesday afternoon after they staged a sit-in in the House Gallery for over six hours.

The group attempted to disrupt a brief joint session of the Constitutional Convention, a typically minutes-long affair the House and Senate hold every few months to consider amendments to the state Constitution. Lawmakers were already on their way out by the time the protestors tried to unfurl a banner in the chamber.

Protestors gathered on the fourth floor public viewing gallery for the House chamber, saying they would not budge unless legislative leadership introduced bills placing a moratorium on new fossil fuel infrastructure projects currently being constructed or proposed.

“The commonwealth has the ability to be a national leader during the rapid transition away from fossil fuels to green renewable energy,” the group said in a statement. “We should stop investing rate-payer money in fossil fuel infrastructure that will need to be abandoned before its full useful life.”

Neither House Speaker Ronald Mariano nor Senate President Karen Spilka filed bills on the topic Wednesday.

The group inside the House Gallery were informed the State House was closed to the public shortly after 5 p.m. and were given the option to leave. None did, and police arrested them shortly after.

A spokesperson for the state police said law enforcement arrested five male and three female protestors after the group refused to leave the House Chamber.

Members of Extinction Rebellion Boston were arrested in February after they staged a sit-in inside the lobby of Gov. Maura Healey’s State House office.