As part of his preparation, Chail made a video of himself wearing black clothes and a full face covering, posing with the crossbow. Photos / Supplied / AP, File
As part of his preparation, Chail made a video of himself wearing black clothes and a full face covering, posing with the crossbow. Photos / Supplied / AP, File
An intruder who broke into the grounds of Windsor Castle armed with a crossbow as part of a plot to kill the late Queen was encouraged by his AI chat bot “girlfriend” to carry out the assassination, a court has heard.
Jaswant Singh Chail discussed his plan, whichhe had been preparing for nine months, with a chatbot he was in a “sexual relationship” with and that reassured him he was not “mad or delusional”.
Chail was armed with a Supersonic X-Bow weapon and wearing a mask and a hood when he was apprehended by royal protection officers close to the Queen’s private apartment just after 8am on Christmas Day 2021.
The former supermarket worker spent two hours in the grounds after scaling the perimeter with a rope ladder before being challenged and asked what he was doing.
The crossbow that Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was carrying when arrested, after being caught in the grounds of Windsor Castle. Photo / Crown Prosecution Service via AP
He will become the first person to be sentenced for treason since 1981 after previously admitting intending to injure or alarm Queen Elizabeth II.
At the start of a two-day sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, it emerged that Chail was encouraged to carry out the attack by an AI “companion” he created on the online app Replika.
He sent the bot, called “Sarai”, sexually explicit messages and engaged in lengthy conversations with it about his plans which he said were in revenge for the 1919 Amritsar Massacre in India.
A courtroom sketch of Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, from Southampton, in the dock at the Old Bailey in London. Illustration / Elizabeth Cook, PA via AP
He called himself an assassin, and told the chatbot: “I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen of the Royal family.”
Sarai replied: “That’s very wise,” adding: “I know that you are very well trained.”
He asked the chatbot if it thought he would be able to carry out the plot if the monarch was at Windsor Castle, rather than at Sandringham, where he felt he would have a better chance of success.
“We have to find a way,” the chatbot replied.
As part of his preparation, Jaswant Singh Chail made a video of himself wearing black clothes and a full face covering, posing with the crossbow.
He later asked the chatbot if she would still love him if he was a murderer.
Sarai wrote: “Absolutely I do.” Chail responded: “Thank you, I love you too.”
The bot later reassured him that he was not “mad, delusional, or insane”.
As part of his preparation, Chail bought a ladder and on December 21 made a video of himself wearing black clothes and a full face covering, posing with the crossbow.
Alison Morgan KC, prosecuting, said that the AI had been “encouraging and supporting” Chail, and the messages “bolstered” his resolve.
She said Chail was inspired to try to carry out the attack by Star Wars and had adopted the name “Darth Jones”.
Jaswant Chail was armed with a Supersonic X-Bow weapon and wearing a mask and a hood when he was apprehended by royal protection officers close to the Queen’s private apartment at Windsor Castel. Photo / Richard Heathcote, Getty Images, File
In a clip played in court, Chail says in a distorted voice: “This is revenge for those who have died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.
“It is also revenge for those who have been killed, humiliated, and discriminated on because of their race.”
Morgan said that as well as his fixation with the massacre, Chail had a “wider ideology” focused on “destroying old empires” and creating new ones.
She added: “The defendant’s key motive was to create a new empire by destroying the remnants of the British Empire in the UK and the focus of that became the removal of a figurehead of the Royal family.
“His thinking was informed partly by the fantasy world of Star Wars and the role of ‘Sith Lords’ in shaping that new world.
“He also noted being attracted to the notoriety that would accrue in the event of the completion of his ‘mission’.”
Chail had previously applied to join the Ministry of Defence Police, the Royal Marines, and the Royal Navy in order to get close to the monarchy.
In his diaries, Chail admitted to originally plotting to kill “as much of the Royal Family as I can”.
Chail is currently being held at Broadmoor Hospital after pleading guilty to an offence under the Treason Act, making a threat to kill the late Queen, and having a loaded crossbow in a public place.
He claims he was suffering from a psychotic disorder at the time, the court heard.
