The alleged co-conspirator in the deadly mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., has pleaded not guilty in a U.S. court and is set to go on trial in December, accused of aiding one of the worst school shootings in Canadian history.
James Bryant entered the plea in a brief arraignment appearance in Seattle on Thursday, after a grand jury last week indicted the 30-year-old Bellingham, Wash., resident for conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country.
The criminal complaint against Bryant, who uses female pronouns and goes by the name Melody, alleges she colluded with shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar online, helping set up an attempted livestream of the murders.
Bryant, who appeared in a tan prison jumpsuit and dark-framed glasses with her hair down to her waist, has been denied bail.
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Her trial is scheduled to begin before U.S. District Judge Kymberly K. Evanson in Seattle on Dec. 21.
Bryant also allegedly advised 18-year-old Van Rootselaar on where to carry out the attack and sent the shooter money to buy a lighter for an explosive device.
Van Rootselaar killed eight victims last February, including five students and an educational assistant at the local secondary school, before she fatally shot herself as police closed in.
The accusations against Bryant remain unproven.
Magistrate Judge Michelle Peterson presided over Thursday’s arraignment hearing, where Bryant was told she faces penalties of up to life in prison and US$25,000 in fines.
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s complaint against Bryant says that on Feb. 10, Van Rootselaar told Bryant she had dressed for the mass shooting.
The document shows a photo of someone from their shoulders down, holding a rifle and wearing black fishnet stockings and a black miniskirt.
“A few moments later, Van Rootselaar told Bryant that she went live with the stream and had just killed her family members at their residence,” the complaint said.
Rootselaar allegedly told Bryant, “I’m going now. (for real). Live. I shot them,” after killing her mother and brother at their home.
Bryant is alleged to have helped Van Rootselaar start the family car — she did not know how to drive — before she headed to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
Bryant will be sentenced heavily in the USA to prison time, as opposed to a smoke lodge on a cottage island here in Canada. He will nolonger wear womans clothing, wigs, or womans make up in jail. That’s the part he will hate.
White inbred trash really love mass shootings
These guys are nuts.