Judicial Watch Files Federal Claim for Monk and Counsel Arrested by Biden DOJ/FBI

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it filed a Federal Tort Claims Act claim on behalf of a Massachusetts Greek Orthodox monk and his monastery’s general counsel, who were maliciously arrested and charged after a 2022 FBI raid. The claim includes allegations of malicious prosecution, false arrest and imprisonment, and assault and battery.

In the early morning hours of October 13, 2022, heavily armed federal agents raided the St. Nicholas monastic complex in Marblehead, MA, and arrested Father Brian Andrew Bushell, 50, and General Counsel Tracey M.A. Stockton, 66. The Biden Justice Department accused Bushell of being a “proported” monk and alleged that he and Stockton improperly used Covid relief funds.

The case against Bushell and Stockton fell apart and the charges were dismissed on November 9, 2023. Bushell accused former Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins of weaponizing “the DOJ, FBI and other federal agents to manufacture a pack of lies to destroy St. Nicholas, me and intimidate God-fearing Orthodox Christians.”  

Biden appointee Rollins was publicly reprimanded by state bar regulators in 2025 for violations outlined in a 2023 Justice Department report (an archived version is available here) that found Rollins improperly attended a Democratic fundraising event in her capacity as a prosecutor with then-First Lady Jill Biden. Rollins also “knowingly and willfully made a false statement” during her interview with former Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz’s office. 

Acting Biden U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy reportedly said that “based on evidence developed in the course of the investigation, the government determined it was in the interests of justice to dismiss the complaint.”

The claim alleges:

Father Brian Andrew Bushell, Tracey Stockton, the Shrine of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, St. Paul’s Foundation, the Annunciation House, and the Marblehead Brewing Company, as victims of the acts of federal government employees acting in the scope of their official duties, suffered economic and non-economic damages as a result of the intentional acts, including … malicious prosecution, false arrest and imprisonment, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress … [by] federal agents who participated in the preparation or execution of the warrants on October 13, 2022. The victims also suffered economic and non-economic damages as a result of the negligent acts, including … negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent training and supervision, of … federal agents, who participated in the preparation or execution of the warrants on October 13, 2022, as well as the negligent acts … of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Excellence, of which the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee and its Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Task Force is a part.

St. Paul’s Foundation demands at least $1,777,124.66, representing the legal fees of Father Bushell and Ms. Stockton related to the intentional and negligent acts of the individuals and entities listed above, which the foundation covered or reimbursed because of their status as unpaid officers and employees of the religious foundation. ….

The Shrine of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker demands at least $518,700, representing economic and non-economic damages …

“Judicial Watch is honored to stand up for Father Andrew and Ms. Stockton for their horrendous anti-Christian mistreatment at the hands of the weponzied Biden Department of Justice,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

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