World · North America · 1 hr ago
Washington resident pleads not guilty in Tumbler Ridge shooting case
Melody Bryant pleaded not guilty in a federal court in Seattle to conspiring to murder people in another country.
Bryant, a 30-year-old resident of Bellingham, Washington, also uses the name James Cody Bryant and she/her pronouns.
Prosecutors accuse her of assisting Jesse Van Rootselaar, who killed eight people in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, in February.
The victims included five children and an educational assistant at a secondary school; Van Rootselaar also killed her mother and stepbrother before dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The allegations against Bryant have not been proven, and her lawyer has said she sometimes tried to dissuade Van Rootselaar from attacking.
Bryant is being held while the case proceeds.
Her trial is scheduled for Dec.
21 in Seattle, though one account says it may be delayed.
James Cody Bryant pleaded not guilty in a Seattle court to a charge of conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country.
Bryant, 30, is accused of helping Jesse Van Rootselaar plan and carry out the February mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.
The allegations against Bryant have not been proven.
A grand jury indicted Bryant last week, and a trial is scheduled to begin on Dec. 21.
Van Rootselaar killed eight people before fatally shooting herself as police closed in.
- Who
- James Cody Bryant, who uses female pronouns and goes by the name Melody.
- What
- Bryant pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country.
- When
- Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026.
- Where
- A court in Seattle, Washington.
- Why
- Bryant is accused of conspiring with Jesse Van Rootselaar in the Tumbler Ridge shooting plot.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Van Rootselaar killed eight people in Tumbler Ridge before fatally shooting herself as police closed in.
A grand jury indicted Bryant.
Bryant pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing in Seattle.
Bryant’s trial is scheduled to begin.
- Defendant
- James Cody Bryant, 30
- Charge
- Conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country
- Court location
- Seattle, Washington
- Alleged shooter
- Jesse Van Rootselaar
- Victims
- Eight people
- Trial date
- Dec. 21
3 sources
What people are saying
I’m going now. [for real]. Live. I shot them
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.