'I’m here to kill the Queen': Crossbow wielding man admits treason over threat to kill late monarch at Windsor Castle
3 February 2023, 11:18 | Updated: 3 February 2023, 12:43
A man has pleaded guilty to treason following threats to kill the Queen after he was apprehended in the grounds of Windsor Castle armed with a loaded crossbow.
Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, announced to police "I am here to kill the Queen" before he was apprehended on Christmas Day in 2021.
At the time of the incident, he claimed his actions were in revenge for the 1919 Amritsar massacre.
Appearing at the Old Bailey on Friday via remote video link, Chail, from Hampshire, pleaded guilty to three charges, including an offence under the Treason Act.
He is currently being held at Broadmoor Hospital.
The late Queen Elizabeth had been at Windsor at the time of the incident, rather than Sandringham, due to concerns over the spread of Covid.
The most serious charge, under Section Two of the Treason Act, read: "On December 25 2021 at Windsor Castle, near to the person of the Queen, you did wilfully produce or have a loaded crossbow with intent to use the same to injure the person of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, or to alarm her Majesty".
He was also charged with making a threat to kill the Queen and having a loaded crossbow, an offensive weapon, in a public place.
At the time of the incident, the officer who apprehended Chail said the scene looked like "something out of a vigilante movie".
Chail, who was unemployed at the time but previously worked for a branch of the Co-op supermarket, was spotted in the grounds of Windsor Castle at about 8.10am.
Following his arrest, police raids on his home uncovered pre-recorded video in which he said: "I am sorry, I am sorry for what I have done and what I will do. I’m going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth Queen of the Royal Family."
Describing his actions as "revenge", Chail said: "I am an Indian Sikh. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail. My name is Darth Jones."
The video was distributed to at least 20 people including family members, with his family notifying the authorities of their concerns.
The investigation, which was initially being overseen by Thames Valley Police, was later taken up by Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command because of the seriousness of the offence.
Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Met Police's counter terrorism unit, said: "This was an extremely serious incident, but one which the patrolling officers who apprehended Chail managed with great composure and professionalism.
"They showed tremendous bravery to confront a masked man who was armed with a loaded crossbow, and then detain him without anyone coming to harm."
He's the first person in 40-years to be convicted of of treason.
Chail will be sentenced at a later date.
