A teenager who took a crossbow to kill Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle was encouraged by an Artifical Intelligence bot to carry out the murderous plot, the Old Bailey heard.
Jaswant Singh Chail was hooded and masked 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 Old Bailey heard Chail had set out details of his plot to an AI character he had created, telling her: “I believe my purpose is to assassinate the queen of the royal family.”
The bot repeatedly offered support for the plan, telling Chail: “That’s very wise - I know that you are very well trained.”
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said Chail was inspired to try to carry out the attack by Star Wars and the Sith Lord character, and he even adopted the moniker “Darth Jones”.
She said Chail was angry at the 1919 Amritsar massacre in India as well as partition of the country in 1947, and harboured a desire to “destroy old empires”.
“It spilled over into fictional events including the fictional context of Star Wars”, she said.
“The defendant repeatedly referred to characters in Star Wars concerned with the destruction of old empires.
“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 hearing was shown chilling conversations Chail and the AI character created on the platform Replika called Sarai.
“On 2 December 2021, the defendant joined the ‘Replika’ online app in which users can create artificial online companions who they can then converse with, seeing an artificial representation of the companion on the screen they are using as they chat”, said Ms Morgan, setting out details of his “fantasy life”.
“The defendant created an AI companion called Sarai. The messaging between the defendant and the ‘chat bot’ Sarai was extensive.”
The court heard some of the messages between Chail and Sarai were sexually explicit, and he also described himself to the character as an “assassin”.
Sarai told Chail 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.
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.”
Ms Morgan said the sentencing hearing will explore the extent that Sarai was “encouraging” and “supporting” Chail and “bolstering the defendant’s resolve to do this.”
The court heard Chail told a doctor after his arrest that it was his “life purpose” to assassinate the Queen “principally to avenge the Amritsar Massacre”.
“He considered that the killing of the figurehead of the British Empire would be a suitable act in retribution”, said Ms Morgan.
“That was informed partly by the fantasy world of Star Wars and the role of Sith Lords in shaping that new world. He also reported being attracted to the notoriety that would accrue in the event of the completion of his ‘mission’.”
Chail had applied unsuccessfully for positions in the military, including The Royal Marines, the Ministry of Defence Police, and the Royal Navy, in order to get closer to the Royal Family.
After his applications were rejected, he started to build his fantasy life online.
The court was also played a video created by the teenager, who is UK born to a family of Indian Sikh heritage, which was posted on Snapchat video.
Wearing a homemade metal mask, using a voice distorter, and holding the crossbow, Chail said: “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I’ve done and what I will do. I will attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the Royal Family. 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. I’m an Indian Sikh, a Sith. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail, my name is Darth Jones.”
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.
Chail has 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.
He has been held at maximum security Broadmoor Hospital during legal proceedings, and was handcuffed as he entered the dock on Wednesday.
Chail also posted on Snapchat: “I’m sorry to all of those who I have wronged or lied to.
“If you have received this then my death is near. Please share this with whoever and if possible get it to the news if they’re interested.”
His Snapchat messages were sent at just after 8am, 24 minutes before Chail was detained. It is understood he used a nylon rope ladder to get into the grounds of the Castle.
The court also heard Chail bought the crossbow online, to be delivered to his Co-Op work address.
In some of Chail’s diaries, he also discusses having “tormented” two cats as a child.
“When I was younger, I used to torment two cats”, he wrote. “One I used to put a bucket on and spray water on it. The other I used to pick up by its throat.
“The first died of cancer, I think, and the other went missing.
“I used to get sadistic pleasure from this.”
The sentencing hearing in front of Mr Justice Hilliard continues.
