Washington Man Charged in Canada School Shooting Plot
The Facts
- James Cody Bryant, 30, of Washington state, appeared Tuesday in federal court in Seattle on a charge of conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country tied to the February mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia.
- A preliminary hearing was set for Oct. 20, and a detention hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday after prosecutors asked that Bryant be held without bail. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $25,000 fine.
- Acting U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said Bryant was in repeated contact with 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, "offering advice, sending money, and even agreeing to livestream" the attack, and discussed alerting police but did not do so.
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The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Though the arrest will not bring back the eight lives lost, it is a step toward accountability and answers for the Tumbler Ridge community. U.S. and Canadian authorities working together can help uncover the full extent of the alleged conspiracy and clarify who else may bear responsibility. This is one piece of the puzzle, with more charges potentially still to come.
Left narrative
The charges reveal chilling details about a shooting allegedly driven less by ideology than by an intense desire for notoriety, enabled by someone online who coached Van Rootselaar, sent money, helped prepare a livestream and even helped her get to the school after the first killings. But a major question remains: how did Van Rootselaar get the gun? Canadians deserve answers on both fronts.
Right narrative
The arrest also puts a hard-to-ignore detail back at the center of the story: both Van Rootselaar and his alleged online accomplice were trans-identifying males, with Bryant allegedly providing tactical advice, money and livestream support. That connection should not be erased from the public record as investigators pursue the full scope of the attack.
