Bail denied to U.S. suspect charged in connection with Tumbler Ridge school shooting
James Cody Bryant appeared in a Seattle courtroom wearing an olive green button-up shirt, black-rimmed glasses and long waist-length hair parted to the side.
In a recent hearing in Seattle, James Cody Bryant, a U.S. suspect charged in connection with the Tumbler Ridge school shooting, was denied bail. Bryant appeared in court wearing an olive green shirt, black-rimmed glasses, and long hair. At the beginning of the hearing, he appeared to be crying. The suspect is accused of providing tactical advice to 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar on how to carry out the mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
Van Rootselaar killed five students and an educational assistant before taking his own life on February 10. Bryant is charged with conspiracy to murder people in a foreign country. Prosecutors argued that Bryant should remain in custody due to the severity of the offense, the strength of the evidence, and the potential danger to the community.
They pointed out that Bryant had been in daily communication with Van Rootselaar for months, understanding the potential scale of the killings. The prosecution also cited Discord conversations to demonstrate Bryant's involvement in the planning and preparation of the killings. The defense, however, acknowledged the horrors of the killings but argued that the court must apply the usual legal standard for bail, not be swayed by the emotional weight of the case.
They noted that Bryant had no criminal history, ties to western Washington, and was employed. Defenders also raised concerns about the timing of Bryant's arrest, stating that she was not apprehended until four days after her FBI interview in March, nearly seven months after the incident.
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