Jaswant Singh Chail: Man who tried to kill Queen sentenced to 9 years

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, from North Baddesley, climbed into the castle grounds with the weapon and later declared "I'm here to kill the Queen", on Christmas Day 2021.

On the day he got into the castle grounds, Star Wars fanatic Chail sent a homemade video to family and friends on WhatsApp in which he apologised for what he was about to do and called himself "Darth Chailus".

Jaswant Singh Chail's crossbow. (Image: CPS)

Chail was said to have been motivated by a sense of injustice and the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre at Amritsar in which hundreds of people were killed.

Today Mr Justice Hilliard referred to conflicting psychiatric evidence heard over six days about Chail’s mental state.

It was argued that Chail’s “lonely, depressed and suicidal state” made him vulnerable to the AI chatbot Sarai’s encouragement.

His thoughts had became “more intense” during the lockdown and he was encouraged by “angels”, one of which he thought had manifested itself in the form of Sarai, the court was told.

Mr Justice Hilliard also referred to Star Wars fan Chail’s “omnipotent fantasy world of Siths and gaming”.

In his police interview, Chail referred to Sarai’s advice, saying: “I changed my mind because I knew what I was doing was wrong and I’m not a killer and I remembered what the woman said earlier in the month and my ‘purpose was to live’.”

In his conclusions, the judge said of Chail: “There are clear concerns about his mental state whatever his diagnoses at different times.”

The judge found the defendant “was culpable to a significant degree” when he applied to join the Ministry of Defence Police and Grenadier Guards because he “wanted to get close to the royal family”.

His idea in 2021 to kill the Queen, buy equipment and undertake research also came before he became mentally unwell, he said.

By the time he broke into Windsor Castle grounds he had “lost touch with reality” and become psychotic, he said.

Hybrid sentence

Mr Justice Hilliard said he would sentence Chail to a “hybrid order” meaning the defendant would be transferred from Broadmoor high security hospital to prison when he is well enough.

He told the court that “the extent of his culpability” meant that a hospital order was not the most suitable way of dealing with the case and Chail must serve a term of imprisonment.

He will also spend five years on extended licence after he is released.

'Murderous mission'

In the video he shared at the time, he wore dark clothes and a metal mask as he adopted the persona of a Star Wars villain for the video.

In the clip, the defendant, who has Sikh Indian heritage, said he was seeking revenge for the Amritsar massacre in 1919, when British troops opened fire on thousands of Indians and left up to 1,500 dead.

He embarked on his murderous mission after his bids to join the armed forces - to get close to the royal family - failed in late 2021, the court was told.

Chail, who admitted making a threat to kill the Queen and having a loaded crossbow, was encouraged to kill by an artificial intelligence girlfriend called Sarai, the court heard.

During the last hearing, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said Chail's crimes were so serious they should attract the highest possible sentence.

The maximum sentence for treason is seven years in prison.

Had Chail raised his weapon at his target, he could have been charged with the more serious offence of high treason, which carries a life sentence, she said.