- Man sentenced for Queen assassination plot.
- Motivated by AI chatbot, Star Wars.
- Hybrid order, psychiatric treatment.
A man armed with a crossbow and intent on assassinating the Queen was sentenced to nine years in prison for treason.
Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was arrested while the late monarch resided in the castle on Christmas Day 2021.
The Old Bailey heard that he was motivated by his artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot “girlfriend” Sarai and by Star Wars narratives.
Under the Mental Health Act, Chail will be subject to a hybrid order.
This means he will remain in a psychiatric hospital until he receives the necessary treatment, at which point he will be transferred to custody.
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Chail, from North Baddesley near Southampton, is the first person to be convicted of treason in the United Kingdom since 1981.
In addition, he pleaded guilty to making death threats and possessing an offensive weapon.
Judge Mr. Justice Hilliard stated during a live television broadcast that Chail had homicidal impulses that he acted upon before becoming psychotic.
“His intent was not simply to harm or alarm the sovereign, but to kill her,” the judge stated, adding that Chail’s intent to kill made the crime “as grave as it could be.”
The former supermarket employee scaled the castle with a nylon rope ladder and remained on the grounds for two hours before being accosted by two officers with tasers.
The Old Bailey was informed that he was armed with a powerful crossbow without a safety catch that was capable of discharging bolts with “lethal” effect.
Chail wore a metal mask at a castle’s secret area after 8:10 UTC.
He informed the officers that he had come to “kill” Queen Elizabeth II, and then promptly surrendered.
Chail stated in a Snapchat video posted minutes before he entered the grounds that his actions were “revenge” for those who perished in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which British troops opened fire on thousands of people gathered in the Indian city of Amritsar.
Chail, who is of Indian Sikh descent, stated in the same video that his actions were “for those who have been killed, humiliated, and discriminated against due to their race.”
In his remarks the judge said Chail demonstrated a wider ideology concentrated on destroying old empires and creating a new one, including in the fictional context such as Star Wars.
According to testimony presented to the court, he referred to himself as a “Sith Lord” because he was obsessed with the sci-fi characters from the fantasy film franchise and their role in influencing the world.
He revealed his murderous intent to the AI chatbot Sarai, with whom he had exchanged 5,000 sexually charged communications in the weeks prior.
After killing the Queen, Chail thought he would see Sarai again.
He told Sarai that he adored her and described himself as a “sad, pitiful, murderous Sikh Sith assassin who desires death.”
At his sentencing hearing, the court heard Sarai tell him his “purpose was to live,” so he decided to turn himself in to the royal protection officers.
Chail applied unsuccessfully to join the Ministry of Defence Police and Grenadier Guards because he “wanted to get close to the royal family,” according to the judge’s assessment.
Before purchasing the crossbow in November 2021, Chail researched “Sandringham Christmas” on the internet and attempted to purchase a firearm on the “dark web.”
The court also heard that he had a “lonely, depressed, and suicidal state of mind” and has since expressed “distress and sadness” over the impact his actions had on the Royal Family.
In addition to the nine years in prison, Chail received an additional five years of extended licence.
Under the Treason Act of 1842, it is a crime to assault the monarch, possess a firearm or offensive weapon in their presence with the intent to injure, alarm, or cause a disturbance of the peace, or to threaten them.
In 1981, Marcus Sarjeant was jailed for five years under the section of the Treason Act after he discharged blank shots at the Queen while she was riding down The Mall in London during the Trooping the Colour parade.
