Far-right political candidate Teresa van Lieshout tells SA court she wants to stand trial over alleged plot to overthrow government

A far-right campaigner says her freedom of speech has been stolen as she faces trial over an alleged violent plot to overthrow the government and make herself Governor-General.

Teresa van Lieshout outside court.

A far-right former political candidate who allegedly plotted to overthrow the government and refuses to accept she has a mentally illness has fired her lawyer and demanded to be tried “by a jury of my peers”.

Teresa Angela van Lieshout has told the Adelaide Magistrates Court she has been “arrested, detained, drugged, persecuted” and had her “freedom of speech stolen”.

Her demand has exposed her to greater scrutiny, with prosecutors now considering filing additional charges over her alleged bid to declare herself Governor-General and recruit a rival police force to arrest parliament.

Ms van Lieshout says she will deny the charges as alleged. Picture: NCA NewsWire

This week her new lawyer, Ricardo Villegas, said Ms van Lieshout’s bail should be relaxed so she can travel around Australia and use the internet without restriction.

“If she is going to be charged with impersonating a Commonwealth official, she wants to be tried in front of a jury of her peers … her previous lawyer did not listen to her about that,” he said.

“It’s been almost two years since my client was arrested, charged, detained, drugged and put under treatment orders.

“The issue that should concern this court is she was arrested because she was advocating a political view.

“She has an implied right to freedom of speech, she is the leader of a political party and she is being persecuted harshly.”

Ms van Lieshout, who was seated in the dock, added: “You are stealing my free speech and my political rights, it’s disgusting.”

Ms van Lieshout, 49, of Peterborough, is accused of importing 470 fake police badges to recruit an “alternative” force and arrest the members of federal parliament.

Her prosecution is part of an Australian Federal Police counter-terrorism operation against individuals in several states who are alleged to be part of the plan.

Ms van Lieshout has run state and federal election campaigns for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party and as an independent.

Ms van Lieshout has been part of several political parties, and eventually started her own. Picture: AAP/Sarah Motherwell

In March last year, doctors found her competent to stand trial, but incompetent to have committed a crime because she “suffers from a delusional disorder”

They said she should be sentenced to treatment, not prison.

In court, a Commonwealth prosecutor asked for time to consider his position – and said Ms van Lieshout’s bail should be tightened in the meantime.

“In May, she participated in a YouTube interview in which she described this alleged offending and said she was justified in what she did,” he said.

“Of more concern is that she has been using Twitter on an ongoing basis … this shows she has no insight into the alleged offending and no ability, going forward, to control herself.

“She suffers from a diagnosed delusional disorder that she will not accept.”

Ms van Lieshout interjected: “That’s defamatory.”

Magistrate Lydia Duncan remanded Ms van Lieshout on stricter bail – banning her from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, BitChute and Telegram – until next month.