James Bryant, accused in connection with the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, is expected to enter a plea at a Seattle arraignment on Thursday.
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The alleged co-conspirator in the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., mass shooting is scheduled to enter a plea at an arraignment in a Seattle courthouse on Thursday, according to the U.S. criminal case described by the reporting.
A Washington state grand jury indicted 30-year-old James Bryant last week on conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country.
The case materials described in the reporting say the criminal complaint alleges Bryant, who uses female pronouns and goes by the name Melody, colluded with shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar online and helped set up an attempted livestream of the murders.
The complaint also alleges Bryant advised Van Rootselaar on where to carry out the attack and sent the shooter money to buy a lighter for an explosive device.
Van Rootselaar killed eight people last February, including five students and an educational assistant at the local secondary school, before fatally shooting herself as police moved in.
The reporting says Bryant has been denied bail.
In a statement described by the reporting, the U.S. Justice Department noted that conspiracy to murder in a foreign country is punishable by up to life in prison, and cautioned that the accusations against Bryant remain unproven.
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