A 20-year-old man was detained by police on Tuesday while carrying a crossbow at Windsor Castle, where Queen Elizabeth II was spending Christmas Day. He was charged with a crime under Britain’s 1842 Treason Act.
Following the incident at the castle, southwest of London, last year, Jaswant Singh Chail, from Southampton in southern England, has also been charged with making death threats and possessing an offensive weapon.
The British capital’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court will hear his case on August 17, according to the Metropolitan Police of London. He is now being held in jail.
The CPS, which is in charge of prosecuting cases in England and Wales, has given the Metropolitan Police permission to file charges against Jaswant Singh Chail after his arrest on December 25, 2021, when he was found carrying a crossbow in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
He said, “This decision has been made after an examination by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.”
Chail has been accused of violating a part of the Treason Act, which makes it illegal to assault the Queen, have a gun or other offensive weapon in her presence, or disturb the peace.
It is highly uncommon for accusations to be brought under this specific treason code, which is 180 years old.
In the most recent example, British citizen Marcus Sarjeant admitted guilt to shooting blank bullets at the monarch when she was on parade and was given a five-year prison term in 1981.
The last person to be found guilty under the distinct and more severe 1351 Treason Act was William Joyce, commonly known as Lord Haw Haw, who worked with Germany during World War II.
The Met stated after the incident at Windsor Castle that security procedures were triggered shortly after the breach and that the person did not enter any buildings.
The incident took place as the Queen celebrated Christmas Day quietly at the palace with her eldest son and heir to the throne, Prince Charles, and his wife Camilla.
The Queen typically spends Christmas at her Sandringham estate in eastern England, but last year she stayed in Windsor out of caution due to a resurgence of Covid-19 cases.
Although the attack was immediately stopped, it brought to mind a previous, more serious intrusion in 1982.
A man was detained last summer after scaling the Palace’s gates.
A homeless guy ascended its walls in 2020 and spent the night there before being apprehended.
