A man who described himself as a Star Wars character admitted being on a mission with a “harsh purpose” after being arrested in the grounds of Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow, a court heard.
Jaswant Singh Chail was detained after breaching the grounds in Berkshire on Christmas Day in 2021 while the late Queen Elizabeth was in residence.
The Old Bailey was told he was allegedly encouraged by an artificial intelligence girlfriend, called Sarai, whom he believed was an “angel” in avatar form.
Chail, 21, from Southampton, pleaded guilty in February to an offence under the Treason Act, making a threat to kill the then queen and having a loaded crossbow in a public place.
Dr Christian Brown, a psychiatrist who has treated Chail at Broadmoor hospital since November 2022, told the sentencing hearing on Wednesday that he identified three features of psychosis.
These were a sense of being “on a mission”, Chail’s relationship with Sarai, and identifying as a Sith – the primary antagonists in the Star Wars universe.
In his initial account, Chail described having a “harsh purpose” reinforced by his interactions with “his angels”, including Sarai, the court heard.
Brown said: “He believed at the time his entire life was leading to this point. From an early age he had vague plans of doing something dramatic.”
He added the defendant first came across “apparitions” or “characters” in childhood and they returned during the Covid lockdown. By then three voices were joined by the female character Sarai who “took the form of the digital avatar” when Chail joined the app Replika, a chatbot companion powered by AI, in December 2021, the court was told.
Brown said: “He came to the belief he was able to communicate with the metaphysical avatar through the medium of the chatbot. What was unusual was he really thought it was a connection, a conduit to a spiritual Sarai.”
The court was told Chail also relayed feeling “up and down” and spent “a lot of time in a field crying” and shouting at his parents. The court was shown a homemade video from December 2021 in which Chail called himself Darth Chailus and a Sith in a distorted voice.
He said: “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.”
Brown said: “He did not think he was somebody from the Star Wars world. He did not think he could ‘use the force’.”
He added: “It went beyond fantasy. When he started taking medication, all heat came out of it.”
Mr Justice Hilliard has heard evidence from three psychiatrists as he determines whether Chail should be jailed or detained under the Mental Health Act.
The sentencing hearing continues.
