James Cody Bryant, arrested by the FBI in Bellingham and charged in U.S. federal court, is accused in court documents of advising Jesse Van Rootselaar in the Tumbler Ridge school shooting last February.
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U.S. federal authorities have charged James Cody Bryant of Bellingham, Washington, in connection with the February Tumbler Ridge school shooting, alleging the 30-year-old closely advised the B.C. teenager accused of carrying out the attack.
Bryant was arrested at a housing complex in Bellingham by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, and appeared in a Seattle courtroom the same day on a federal felony charge of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country.
Court documents described Bryant as trans and as identifying as female, and say Bryant was closely connected to Jesse Van Rootselaar through online communications for months before and during the Feb. 10 massacre in Tumbler Ridge, in which eight people were killed.
According to U.S. authorities, Discord was a central channel of communication between the two, and they allegedly discussed tactics, locations and weaponry for the attack on the platform before the shooting attempt to livestream the murders on Twitch.
Investigators said Discord identified a series of conversations dating back months or even years, and that the shooter and Bryant had ongoing discussions over that period. W. Mike Herrington, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Seattle, said the FBI interviewed Bryant two days after the Tumbler Ridge shooting.
Herrington said RCMP reached out to U.S. authorities after Discord notified Canadian authorities, and investigators began looking into Bryant. He added that the FBI alleged the two communicated regularly, and that Discord conversations showed photos shared by Van Rootselaar on the platform about what the shooter was wearing for the attack.
Authorities also allege Van Rootselaar and Bryant met online about three years earlier, when Van Rootselaar was about 15 and Bryant was about 27, using the now-defunct Omegle messaging app.
Court documents and authorities’ statements say the pair later fell out of contact after Van Rootselaar was institutionalized following a fire set in their room, then resumed communication, according to the FBI, in the six months before the murders.
Neighbours and coworkers described Bryant as presenting as one in everyday life and as asking to be identified as female in court proceedings. Neighbour Preston Coffelt said he was “kind of stunned,” adding, “It’s not something I’d expect to happen two buildings down.”
Another neighbour, Rodney Green, said Bryant had long hair and had their fingernails done, and described the expectation that Bryant was “dressing like a girl.” Bryant’s boss at a local McDonald’s said Bryant was a reliable employee who worked at the fast food location for several years, and said staff were shaken by the FBI allegations.
The U.S. complaint alleges Bryant provided more than emotional support, including advice, financial support and material support, and that Bryant made a repeated commitment to conceal the plan and the impending attack from law enforcement before it occurred.
Investigators also said Bryant allegedly told Van Rootselaar, “I think we should find a way to delete all our messages,” as part of the alleged effort to avoid being caught.
In Tumbler Ridge, eight people—six children and two adults—were killed in the Feb. 10 attack. The victims named by authorities are Abel Mwansa, Ezekiel Schofield, Kylie Smith, Zoey Benoit, Ticaria Lampert, Shannda Aviugana-Durand, Emmett Jacobs and Jennifer Jacobs. Van Rootselaar died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In court and through U.S. statements, authorities said the allegations have not yet been tested in court. The charge against Bryant remains before the courts.
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