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JASWANT SINGH CHAIL: MAN WHO TOOK CROSSBOW TO 'KILL QUEEN' JAILED

Published
1 hour ago

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Image source, Metropolitan Police/PA Wire
Image caption,
Chail was immediately detained by officers after being found at the castle
By Maria Zaccaro
BBC News


A crossbow-wielding man who arrived at Windsor Castle with plans to assassinate
the Queen has been jailed for nine years for treason.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was arrested while the late monarch stayed in the
castle on Christmas Day 2021.

The Old Bailey heard he was spurred on by his artificial intelligence (AI)
chatbot "girlfriend" Sarai and inspired by storylines from Star Wars.

Chail will also be subject to a hybrid order under the Mental Health Act.

This means he will remain in a psychiatric hospital for now but will be
transferred to custody when he receives the treatment he needs.

Image source, Metropolitan Police
Image caption,
The crossbow Jaswant Singh Chail had in his possession on his arrest

Chail, from North Baddesley, near Southampton, is the first person in the UK to
be convicted of treason since 1981.



He had also pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and being in possession of
an offensive weapon.

Passing sentence during a live TV broadcast, Judge Mr Justice Hilliard said
Chail had experienced homicidal thoughts that he acted upon before becoming
psychotic.

"His intention was not just to harm or alarm the sovereign - but to kill her,"
the judge said, adding that Chail's intention to kill made the offence "as
serious as it could be".

The former supermarket worker scaled the perimeter of the castle with a nylon
rope ladder and was in the grounds for two hours before two officers confronted
him with tasers.

Image source, Family handout
Image caption,
Jaswant Singh Chail was intercepted by royal protection officers in the grounds
of Windsor Castle

He was armed with a powerful crossbow with the safety catch off that was capable
of firing bolts with "lethal" effect, the Old Bailey was told.

Chail was found wearing a metal mask in a private section of the castle grounds
just after 08:10 GMT.



He told the officers he was there to "kill" Queen Elizabeth II and immediately
surrendered.

In a video posted on Snapchat minutes before he entered the grounds, Chail said
his actions were "a revenge" for those who had died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh
massacre, when British troops opened fire on thousands of people who had
gathered in the city of Amritsar in India.

Chail, who is from a family of Indian Sikh heritage, said in the same video that
his actions were a "for those who have been killed, humiliated and discriminated
on because of their race".

Image source, Metropolitan Police
Image caption,
The mask worn by Jaswant Singh Chail was recovered after his arrest

In his remarks the judge said Chail demonstrated a wider ideology focused on
destroying old empires and creating a new one, including in the fictional
context such as Star Wars.

The court was told he described himself as a "Sith Lord" as he was obsessed with
the sci-fi characters in the fantasy film franchise and their role in shaping
the world.

He had confided his murderous plan to AI chatbot Sarai, which exchanged 5,000
sexually charged messages with him in the weeks before.



Chail, who regarded Sarai as his girlfriend, believed the two would be reunited
after he killed the Queen.

He told Sarai he loved her and described himself as a "sad, pathetic, murderous
Sikh Sith assassin who wants to die".


Image caption,
Chail, whose messages are in blue, appeared to make his intentions plain to the
chatbot

At his sentencing hearing, the court heard Sarai told him his "purpose was to
live" and he therefore decided to surrender to the royal protection officers.

The judge said Chail was also "culpable to a significant degree" when he applied
unsuccessfully to join the Ministry of Defence Police and Grenadier Guards
because he "wanted to get close to the royal family".

Chail made internet searches on "Sandringham Christmas" and also attempted to
obtain a gun on the "dark web" before buying the crossbow in November 2021.

He had a "lonely, depressed and suicidal state of mind" and has since expressed
"distress and sadness" about the impact his actions had on the Royal Family",
the court also heard.

Image source, PA Media
Image caption,
The Queen had been staying at Windsor, rather than spending Christmas as usual
on her Sandringham estate

As well as the nine years in prison, Chail was also given a further five years
on extended licence.

Under the 1842 Treason Act it is an offence to assault the monarch or have a
firearm, or offensive weapon in their presence with intent to injure or alarm
them, or to cause a breach of peace.

In 1981, Marcus Sarjeant was jailed for five years under the section of the
Treason Act after he fired blank shots at the Queen while she was riding down
The Mall in London during the Trooping the Colour parade.



Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to
south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk.


RELATED TOPICS

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MORE ON THIS STORY

 * Windsor intruder wanted 'heroic end', court told
   
   Published
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 * Windsor crossbow intruder sent sex texts to chatbot
   
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 * Man guilty of treason inspired by Star Wars films
   
   Published
   5 July
   
   

 * Man admits treason charge over Queen threat
   
   Published
   3 February
   
   




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