A Washington state woman has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country after allegedly coaching an 18-year-old on how to maximize casualties in a deadly Canadian school shooting, providing tactical advice, money, and instructions for concealing the plot.
Federal prosecutors have accused James Cody Bryant, 30, of Bellingham, Washington, of conspiring to commit murder in a foreign country by coaching 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar in planning one of Canada's deadliest school shootings. For at least six months, Bryant, who identifies as female, allegedly communicated with Van Rootselaar, offering tactical advice on maximizing casualties, such as using wide-open spaces for higher numbers, and providing money to purchase items for an explosive device. Bryant also reportedly advised Van Rootselaar to delete messages and use virtual private networks to conceal the plot. The massacre saw Van Rootselaar kill her mother and stepbrother at home before attacking a school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, where five children and an educational assistant were killed, and 25 others wounded. Van Rootselaar was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Although Bryant sometimes urged Van Rootselaar to reconsider, she reassured her she would not alert authorities, stating, 'I know I can like, save lives I guess but idk.' The pair met on Omegle three years prior. Bryant appeared in federal court and was ordered detained. Canadian officials are considering charges, and victims' families have separately sued OpenAI, alleging failure to alert authorities about the shooter's interactions with ChatGPT.
