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Man pleads guilty to threatening to kill Queen Elizabeth

A man who was arrested on the grounds of Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow pleaded guilty to treason on Friday for planning to attack Queen Elizabeth II. Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, admitted to a charge under the Treason Act of intending to “injure the person of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, or to alarm her Majesty.” He also pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and possessing an offensive weapon.

Reuters MAGAZINE
Published February 03,2023
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A man arrested at the late Queen Elizabeth's Windsor Castle home with a loaded crossbow pleaded guilty in a London court on Friday to an offence under the Treason Act and threatening to kill the monarch.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, admitted the offences at London's Old Bailey after he was arrested in the grounds of the castle to the west of London on Christmas Day, 2021.

Elizabeth, who died in September last year, was at the castle on the day of the intrusion with her son and now King Charles and other close family members.

Chail had spent months planning the attack, prosecutors said at an earlier court hearing. When he was approached by a protection officer, Chail said: "I am here to kill the queen."

He appeared at Friday's hearing at London's Old Bailey court via videolink wearing a black jacket and spoke only to confirm his name and enter guilty pleas to the three charges. Judge Jeremy Baker said he would sentence Chail on Mar. 31.