Federal prosecutors accuse James Cody Bryant of conspiring to murder people abroad, alleging he helped the Canadian school shooter prepare the attack and planned to livestream it.
James Cody Bryant, 30, of Bellingham, Washington, was arrested on October 6 and charged with conspiring to murder people in a foreign country. The U.S. Justice Department says he communicated with Jesse Van Rootselaar on Discord for at least six months before the February 10 shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. The allegations are set out in a criminal complaint and have not been proven in court.
Prosecutors allege Bryant sent Van Rootselaar money and technical advice, helped test livestream equipment and agreed to broadcast the attack. They also say he advised her on concealing their messages and helped her get a car started when she could not do so herself. Authorities say he did not alert law enforcement, although he sometimes tried to persuade Van Rootselaar to abandon the plan.
According to the Justice Department, Van Rootselaar killed two family members before driving to the school, where she killed five children and an educational assistant. Eight people died in total. The Associated Press reported that 25 people were injured. Van Rootselaar died by suicide. Those figures differ from the numbers in Al Jazeera’s report; this account follows the Justice Department and AP.
British Columbia sued OpenAI in California in September. The lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT played a role in the attack and that the company failed to alert law enforcement after its safety team flagged Van Rootselaar’s statements about gun violence. The province seeks compensation for emergency response and community recovery costs, as well as changes to how the company handles threats. OpenAI previously apologized for not contacting law enforcement; the lawsuit alleges promised policy changes were not made.
The criminal complaint contains allegations against Bryant, not findings of guilt. The Justice Department says conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country carries a possible sentence of up to life in prison.