A Washington state grand jury has indicted 30-year-old James Bryant for conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country in the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting case.
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A grand jury in Washington state has indicted 30-year-old James Bryant, an alleged co-conspirator in the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., mass shooting, according to court-related information from U.S. authorities.
The indictment charges Bryant with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country, a step the U.S. Attorney’s Office described as meaning there is probable cause for prosecutors to pursue the case.
U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Emily Langlie said an indictment would eliminate a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 20. Bryant, whose lawyer said she goes by “Melody” and uses female pronouns, was denied bail a day before the indictment.
A statement from the U.S. Department of Justice says the indictment “details several overt acts that Bryant took to further the school shooting conspiracy.” The statement says the alleged acts include agreeing to record the shooting and broadcast it over the internet, offering the shooter advice on where to attack and what weapons to use, and sending Van Rootselaar money to buy a lighter for use in an improvised explosive device.
The Justice Department said conspiracy to murder in a foreign country is punishable by up to life in prison, and it cautioned that the accusations against Bryant remain unproven. The statement said the case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg with help from the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The Tumbler Ridge shooting involved 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who shot eight people dead in February, including five pupils and a teacher at a secondary school. Van Rootselaar shot herself dead at the school on Feb. 10 as police closed in.
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