Teresa Angela van Lieshout confessed to fabricating her identity as Australia’s governor-general and unlawfully importing police badges with the intent to establish a competing police force designed to overthrow the government. She made her admission during an appearance at Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Upon hearing the charges levied against her – falsely posing as a commonwealth public official and illicitly bringing in counterfeit Australian Federal Police badges in 2021 – her initial response was a guilty plea, albeit with an added phrase, “under duress”. “I plead guilty under duress, your honour,” were the words she chose to convey from the dock.
However, Magistrate Simon Smart dismissed her “under duress” remark. He chose to postpone the trial, giving van Lieshout the opportunity to seek advice from her legal representation. His instructions were clear cut. “I don’t need the addition,” he stated, “It’s either a plea of guilty or not guilty. I simply need an answer, guilty or not guilty, OK?”
Subsequently, van Lieshout exited the dock to engage in a consultation with her lawyer and made a reappearance after a brief 15-minute interval.
In the subsequent reading of the charges, van Lieshout abided by the magistrate’s directive, stating simply that she was “guilty”.
The proceedings against van Lieshout arose as part of a counter-terrorism operation by the Australian Federal Police, targeting individuals nationwide accused of participating in the 2021 coup plot. Police claim that conspiracy theorists made attempts to take down the federal government by establishing their private police force, manufacturing imitation police badges, and composing arrest warrants for officials.
Sentencing submissions shall be heard when she next presents herself at the court on October 6. A psychiatric report is expected to be presented to the court on her behalf as part of those submissions, her lawyer has stated.
In an unexpected turn, as she was departing from the dock, van Lieshout disclosed that she was in the process of penning a book. She was quoted as saying, “Wait till my book comes out, which details the government’s crimes against me are a thousand times worse than anything I’ve ever done or said.”
It should be noted that van Lieshout has previously contested in state and federal elections representing Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party and also as an independent.
