Melody Bryant charged in Canada mass shooting conspiracy in Seattle

Melody Bryant was ordered detained in Seattle pending further hearings in a foreign murder conspiracy case. A federal judge ruled that no release conditions could guarantee community safety while the case moves forward. Bryant, also known as James Cody Bryant, lives in Bellingham, Washington.

Federal prosecutors charged Bryant this month with conspiring to murder people in a foreign country. Investigators said she assisted Jesse Van Rootselaar before an attack in Tumbler Ridge in February. The attack killed eight people and wounded 27 others in the mountain community.

A criminal complaint was filed this month in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The complaint said Bryant declined to report the attack plans to law enforcement. She agreed to distribute a livestream of the shooting, according to investigators.

Court documents also state Bryant provided money for the plot. She shared advice on how to delete online messages to keep the plan secret. She has not entered a plea.

Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler denied release during a detention hearing on Tuesday. Theiler stated internet restrictions could not ensure community safety. Public defender Greg Murphy argued Bryant should be released pending trial.

Murphy said federal agents interviewed Bryant days after the attack. The government permitted her to remain free for the next seven months. Murphy noted prosecutors filed the complaint on Oct. 2 but waited four days to arrest her.

“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.

Murphy told the court he has not received evidence to evaluate the government allegations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg argued the charge carries a presumption of detention. Greenberg said Bryant communicated daily with the shooter over several months.

“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.”

Authorities say Van Rootselaar killed her mother and stepbrother at home. The shooter then attacked Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. That attack killed an educational assistant and five children ages 12 and 13.

Van Rootselaar was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The school enrolls 175 students from Grades 7 to 12, according to provincial records. Tumbler Ridge sits more than 1,000 kilometers northeast of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Victims’ families are suing artificial intelligence company OpenAI in federal court. The lawsuit seeks to hold the maker of ChatGPT responsible. Families claim the company failed to alert police to alarming chatbot interactions.

Federal detention hearings determine whether a criminal defendant remains jailed before trial begins. Judges evaluate flight risk and potential danger to the community. Prosecutors and defense attorneys present arguments regarding conditions of release.

The federal case against Bryant remains pending in Seattle.