Melody Bryant ordered detained in Seattle in Canada school shooting case
Melody Bryant was ordered held in custody Tuesday in Seattle pending further hearings in a Canadian conspiracy case. The decision keeps the Washington resident jailed without bail on a charge of conspiring to murder people in a foreign country.
Bryant, also known as James Cody Bryant, lives in Bellingham, Washington. Federal prosecutors charged Bryant this month in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Bryant has not entered a plea.
Investigators said Bryant provided assistance to Jesse Van Rootselaar. Van Rootselaar killed eight people and wounded 27 in Tumbler Ridge in February. Tumbler Ridge is a mountain community in the Canadian Rockies.
Authorities say Van Rootselaar killed her mother and stepbrother at home. She then attacked a nearby secondary school in Tumbler Ridge. The attack killed five children ages 12 and 13 and an educational assistant. Van Rootselaar was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A criminal complaint filed this month details the accusations against Bryant. Bryant declined to report the plans, according to the complaint. Bryant agreed to distribute a livestream of the attack and provided money. The complaint states Bryant also shared advice on how to delete online messages.
Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler denied release at the Tuesday hearing. Theiler said internet restrictions could not ensure community safety. She said no release conditions would keep the public safe.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg argued for detention. Greenberg told the judge the charge carried a presumption that Bryant stay detained.
“The defendant was, over the course of months, in daily communication with someone who was planning a mass murder event in British Columbia,” Greenberg said. “Bryant chose not to intervene.”
Public defender Greg Murphy argued for release. Murphy said he has not yet received evidence to evaluate the government case. Federal agents interviewed Bryant days after the attack and left her free for seven months. The government also waited four days to arrest her after filing the complaint on Oct. 2.
“There is no evidence that suggests any new danger to the communty in the last seven months since the government first interviewed her,” Murphy said.
A detention hearing determines whether a defendant stays in jail while awaiting trial. Federal magistrates evaluate flight risk and danger to the community. These proceedings take place in the federal court district where the arrest occurred.
Families of victims are also suing OpenAI in U.S. federal court in Seattle. The lawsuit seeks to hold the company responsible for failing to alert police about chatbot interactions.
