UPDATED: US attorney names 'trans' Bellingham man charged in Tumbler Ridge case

PENTICTON — A 30-year-old Bellingham man, who identifies as "trans'" according to US authorities, faces a charge of conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country after US authorities linked him to the February 10 mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.Acting US Attorney Neil Floyd said Tuesday that federal agents arrested James Cody Bryant, 30, following an investigation into his repeated contact with shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar. Floyd said Bryant offered advice, transferred money, agreed to livestream the attack, and encouraged the violence..Bryant is male and identified as female. Van Rootselaar was also born male and had begun to identify as female about six years before the attack, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said back in February.The RCMP had originally referred to him only as a "gunperson.".Floyd said Bryant possessed the ability to alert law enforcement after discussing that option with the shooter, but chose instead to offer assistance. Prosecutors said the conspiracy charge carries a sentence of up to life in prison.Police allege Bryant met the shooter online and communicated for at least six months before conversations turned toward violence, according to Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle office. Herrington said Bryant stayed awake following an overnight work shift to broadcast a livestream, as the shooter expressed concern over having too few followers to gain a wide audience. Investigators do not know whether the shooter would have proceeded without Bryant’s involvement..Floyd noted that after killing two family members at a local home, the shooter struggled to start a getaway vehicle. Bryant provided advice and help, enabling the shooter to drive to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Harrington emphasized that Bryant provided assistance while fully aware that killings had already commenced..Asked why Bryant was not being sent to Canada, Floyd said the activity connected to the charge was committed in Washington state, Bolan reported. She said he agreed the penalties are higher there.After the conference Vancouver Sun report Kim Bolan posted a photo she said Van Rootselaar sent Bryant just before the attack. The image shows a seated person, appearing to be in a skirt and fishnet stockings, with a long gun..On February 10, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar killed six people at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to RCMP. The victims at the school included students Abel Mwansa, Kylie Smith, Zoey Benoit, and Ticaria Lampert, all 12; Ezekiel Schofield, 13; and educational assistant Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 39.At a nearby home, police found the bodies of Van Rootselaar’s mother, 39-year-old Jennifer Jacobs (also known as Jennifer Strang), and 11-year-old half-brother, Emmett Jacobs. RCMP reported that 25 additional people sustained injuries.RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said in February that Van Rootselaar was born male and began identifying as female approximately six years prior.In August, following the release of redacted search-warrant records obtained by a media consortium, BC RCMP confirmed the criminal investigation remained open. Tuesday’s US federal complaint operates as a separate filing and does not close the Canadian file.The Government of British Columbia has sued OpenAI in California over the shooting. That civil case remains separate, and prosecutors made no connection between Bryant and the company. A Canada-wide warrant unsealed in February for Jacob Jan Van Rootselaar, 22, on an Alberta attempted-murder charge involves a different individual and case.Bryant is scheduled to make an initial court appearance at 2 p.m. PDT at the US District Courthouse in Seattle.

UPDATED: US attorney names 'trans' Bellingham man charged in Tumbler Ridge case

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