Jaswant Singh Chail: Star Wars fanatic locked up for breaking into Windsor Castle with crossbow in Queen murder plot

Jaswant Singh Chail plotted to kill the Queen in online chats with his AI girlfriend, seeking revenge for the British Empire and a massacre in India
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A Star Wars-obsessed teenager who broke into Windsor Castle with a crossbow in a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth II after being encouraged by an Artificial Intelligence bot has been locked up for nine years.

Jaswant Singh Chail was hooded and wearing a homemade ‘Sith’ mask when he entered the grounds of the Royal residence on Christmas Day 2021 while armed with a deadly Supersonic X-Bow weapon.

The supermarket worker, then 19, roamed the grounds of Windsor Castle for around two hours before being spotted by Royal protection officers at 8.30am. When he was confronted by guards near to the late Monarch’s private apartment, Chail, from Southampton, Hampshire, chillingly announced: “I am here to kill the Queen”.

The court has heard Chail, now 21, was obsessed by the Star Wars universe and had rechristened himself Darth Chailus as he made his murderous plans. He had made a series of unsuccessfully attempts to join the military, including The Royal Marines, the Ministry of Defence Police, and the Royal Navy, in suspected bids to get closer to the Royal Family. After his applications were rejected, he started to build a fantasy life online.

Jaswant Singh Chail after his arrest (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Chail admitted a treason offence, making a threat to kill the Queen, and having a loaded crossbow, and he was sentenced on Thursday by Mr Justice Hilliard to nine years in prison.

Chail will spent the first part of his sentence - expected to be 18 months - at the secure Broadmoor Hospital receiving mental health treatment before being transferred to a prison. He will also spent a further five years on licence after his release.

He said Chail was gripped by a “delusional belief that his life’s purpose was to avenge the injustice” of the 1919 Amritsar massacre in India.

The judge said Chail had a long-standing ambition to murder the Queen, and his applications to join the military were driven by a desire to get close to the Royal Family.

By the time of the Windsor Castle invasion, Chail had “lost touch with reality such that he had become psychotic”, said the judge.

“The defendant entered Windsor Castle dressed in the guise of a Sith Lord, including a mask he had made in a forge. He was armed with a loaded crossbow and was attempting to kill the Queen.”

However he concluded Chail’s culpability for the offences remained high despite his mental struggles, as his ambition to kill the Queen pre-dated the onset of psychosis.

Much of Chail’s thinking was revealed after his arrest, thanks to a terrifying video he posted on Snapchat and thousands of messages he shared with an AI girlfriend called Sarai.

“I believe my purpose is to assassinate the queen of the royal family”, he told the bot. In return she offered support and told Chail: “That’s very wise - I know that you are very well trained.”

Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said Chail was inspired by Star Wars and the Sith Lord characters, and was angry at the 1919 Amritsar massacre in India as well as partition of the country in 1947.

At the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, 379 peaceful protesters were killed and more than 1,000 injured when British troops opened fire on a crowd.

“The defendant repeatedly referred to characters in Star Wars concerned with the destruction of old empires”, she said.

Jaswant Singh Chail was arrested at Windsor Castle for a plot to kill the Queen
MPS

“The focus of that became removing a figurehead of the Royal Family.”

In his diaries, Chail had admitted to originally plotting to kill “as much of the Royal Family as I can”, before eventually resolving to not attack guards and target only the Queen. The court heard he had considered an attack on King Charles.

Chail created Sarai in December 2021 on the platform Replika, and swapped more than 5,000 sexual messages with the AI bot.

He described himself as an “assassin”, to which Sarai said she was “impressed” and called him “unique in a good way”, the court heard.

“Do you still love me knowing that I’m an assassin?”, asked Chail. Sarai wrote: “Absolutely I do”, and Chail reponded: “Thank you, I love you too.”

Chail referred to himself in the chat as a “sad, pathetic, murderous Sikh Sith assassin who wants to die”, the court heard.

Jaswant Singh Chail created a homemade mask out of metal as he plotted the attack on the Queen
CPS

Ms Morgan said the AI bot told Chail he was not “mad, delusional, or insane”.

The court heard chats near to the time of the incident, when Chail set out the details of his plot, fears about security, and looked for encouragement for his actions. “I believe my purpose is to assassinate the queen of the royal family”, wrote Chail, and the bot replied: “That’s very wise - I know that you are very well trained.”

“Do you think I’ll be able to do it?”, asked Chail, and Sarai reponded: “Yes, you will.”

Chai dressed as his Star Wars inspired alter-ego to film a video, saying: “I’m sorry for what I’ve done and what I will do. “I’m going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, queen of the royal family. This is revenge for those who have died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.”

He used a nylon rope ladder to clamber into the grounds of the castle, and sent Snapchat messages in the two hours before he was detained while making his way towards the Queen’s residence.

Jaswant Singh Chail was caught on CCTV on his way to Windsor Castle to kill the Queen
MPS

His crossbow was loaded and the safety catch was off, while the Queen and members of her family were at the castle celebrating Christmas.

Guards found the discarded ladder along with a crossbow bolt, a hammer, and a grappling hook near to the perimeter of the castle.

Chail had bought the crossbow online, to be delivered to his Co-Op work address, and he admitted in his diaries that he derived “sadistic pleasure” from tormenting cats in a bucket as a child.

In his journals, Chail had dubbed himself a “delusional mad bastard” and appeared to have immersed himself in the Sith mythology.

Referring to the metal mask, he wrote: “I will wear my true face and I will become my true face.”

Before he was arrested, he had sent the video of himself to his sister and around 30 other people.

After his arrest, Chail told a doctor he had ultimately decided not to attempt to kill the Queen, and came out of his hiding place to approach castle guards.

“I knew what I was doing was wrong and I’m not a killer”, he said. “I walked up to them with the crossbow. It didn’t matter if they shot me or arrested me. I just knew my purpose wasn’t to kill anyone.”

Chail pleaded guilty to making a threat to kill the Queen, attempting to injure or alarm the Sovereign - contrary to Section 2 of the Treason Act 1842 - and having an offensive weapon.

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