A purported Orthodox Christian monk from Massachusetts is speaking out after federal fraud charges against him filed by a disgraced Biden prosecutor were dropped – charges that saw him arrested during the middle of prayer service.
Brian Bushell and his business partner Tracey Stockton were charged in October 2022 for an alleged $3.6 million COVID Aid fraud scheme by former Massachusetts U.S. Attorney, and Biden appointee, Rachael Rollins.
Rollins was ousted in May 2023 after an investigation found she violated the Hatch Act and the monk said she pursued the charges against him to distract from her own legal troubles.
After she was ousted, the new federal prosecutor dropped the charges against the monk – which he described as filed for her ‘own political gain.’
Bushnell said the FBI raided his house of worship while he was in the middle of his early morning prayer.
‘There was no warning. I saw flashlights outside the chapel windows. Dogs started barking,’ he said.
Brian Bushell, a purported Orthodox Christian monk, is speaking out after federal fraud charges against him filed by a disgraced Biden prosecutor were dropped
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Bushnell said the FBI raided his house of worship while he was in the middle of his early morning prayer
Bushell is the leader of several organizations including St. Paul’s Foundation, a ‘monastic house,’ a residence for clergy and a monastic brewery called Marblehead Brewing Co. Pictured a property Bushnell owns
Bushell is the leader of several organizations including St. Paul’s Foundation, a ‘monastic house,’ a residence for clergy and a monastic brewery called Marblehead Brewing Co., reported NBC Boston.
The monk said he had no idea why he was being arrested and had asked to view the warrant.
Bushnell said, ‘The entire feeling that the apparatus of government, which is supposed to protect the weak and supposed to protect those who are struggling to do good things for others was actually bearing down on me… it’s terrifying. It’s traumatic.’
‘Where was President Biden when his US attorney Rachael Rollin was defaming the Orthodox church and me personally?’
The charges against Bushnell and Stockton were dropped in November, but the monk said it has damaged his reputation.
‘There are still people who’ve made up their minds based on these lies. And it’s going to be difficult to change their mind,’ he said. ‘Once you’re very publicly arrested… it becomes almost insurmountable.’
Bushnell blasted the charges and described himself as a political pawn.
‘This was too good for her to pass up because she was herself being investigated for ethics violations.’
The monk was accused of ‘vastly’ overstating his organization’s operational expenses to obtain larger Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds.
Rollins office said that Bushnell had used the funds to purchase over $40,000 in Swiss watches, a nearly $7,000 Goyard designer handbag for Stockton, $2,400 on items from Hermès and other luxury goods.
The charges against Bushnell and Stockton were dropped in November, but the monk said it has damaged his reputation
Former Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins was ousted in May 2023 after an investigation found she violated the Hatch Act
In the filing to dismiss the charges, Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said, ‘The government respectfully submits that dismissal if in the interests of justice’ without further explanation.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Rollins committed ‘one of the most egregious Hatch Act violations’ their office had ever investigated.
The Hatch Act, a federal law passed in 1939, prohibits federal employees from engaging in some forms of political activity.
The investigation said Rollins leaked information from the Department of Justice to influence the election of the Suffolk County District Attorney and that she attended a political fundraiser while working in her official capacity.
According to the investigation, Rollins spoke to reporters from The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald about an investigation of then-interim Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden.
The former U.S. attorney was said to have used her personal cell phone to send messages to her staff including on official matters relating to the Department of Justice.
She was also accused of soliciting and accepting 30 free tickets to Boston Celtics games and taking payments from a sports and entertainment agency.
Rollins announced she would resign shortly after the investigation into her Hatch Act violations was published.