An alleged knife-wielding "psychopath" who demanded to speak with then prime minister Scott Morrison after allegedly threatening a Parliament House worker is set to contest his charges.
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Yohanes Mekonnen, 23, appeared via phone in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday for charges of possessing an offensive weapon with intent and making a reckless threat to kill.
On a previous appearance, his lawyer at the time formally entered pleas of not guilty by reason of mental impairment.
Alleged prosecution facts tendered to the court accuse Mekonnen, of Sydney's southwest, of getting into a Parliament House staffer's car about 6pm in June 2021 after the worker had finished a shift.
The defendant said he was "going to make himself comfortable" before asking the staffer "what's your life worth?".
"I'm here to stab someone. If it isn't you, it will be someone else," he allegedly said.
He also allegedly asked where the worker wanted to die and said "I'm a psychopath and I'm off my meds".
The police allegations state the staffer drove around the building, fearing he would be stabbed as Mekonnen pointed a knife with a blade up to 15cm long at him.
The worker eventually spotted some Australian Federal Police protective service officers and flashed his high beams at them before pulling up alongside them and explaining the situation.
According to police, the officers spoke to Mekonnen through the car window before he handed them the knife at their request.
"While talking with the defendant, he stated that he wanted to talk to Scott Morrison," the allegations state.
"He would not elaborate on what he wanted to speak to the prime minister about.
"[He] only stated that the matter was classified and above the AFP [officers'] pay grade."
The court on Wednesday heard the contested hearing is estimated to take two days with at least six witnesses for the prosecution.
The complainant is set to give evidence from a remote witness room. Mekonnen is scheduled to front court for the hearing on May 17-18 next year.
The court previously heard the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which assessed Mekonnen's mental health, and treating doctors found he was ready to be released and not be "returned to the mental health unit [at Canberra Hospital] involuntarily".
The assessments found the defendant's risks had diminished since he was arrested and that his mental illness was "in remission presently".
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