Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel, who was sentenced to 14 years in a Russian prison after being arrested with what he claimed was legally prescribed marijuana, has been freed and is heading back to the United States, the White House announced Tuesday.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia,” national security adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement.
“President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the President’s advisors negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine,” Waltz continued. “Since President Trump’s swearing-in, he has successfully secured the release of Americans detained around the world, and President Trump will continue until all Americans being held are returned to the United States. By tonight, Marc Fogel will be on American soil and reunited with his family and loved ones thanks to President Trump’s leadership.”
It was not immediately clear which or how many Russians held by the US were being released in exchange for Fogel’s freedom.
“I am thrilled that Marc Fogel is finally coming home after years of being wrongfully held in Russia. I have been working with the Administration on this since day one and I’m grateful to President Trump and Secretary Rubio for delivering on their commitment to free Marc,” said Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.).
“As I told Marc’s Mom, Mafa, when we spoke in August, we had to do everything possible to get Marc home and it is a blessing that this day has finally come.”
Malphine Fogel, 95, was a featured guest at the Pennsylvania campaign rally where Trump was nearly assassinated last July 13 — and told The Post previously the president had made a promise to bring her son home.
“I explained that my son was in a Russian jail for the same crime Brittany Griner committed,” she said in July 2023. “[Griner] was in jail for 10 months before President Biden got her out. My son has been in for three years, and I haven’t heard from the president or anyone in Washington.”
“Mr. Trump said, ‘If I get in, I will get him out’ and gave me a thumbs up,” added Malphine Fogel. “He was very cordial and sincere.”
In August 2024, Fogel, a husband and father of two, was left out of a prisoner swap negotiated by the Biden administration that secured the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, corporate security executive Paul Whelan and others.
The US State Department in October officially designated Fogel as wrongfully detained, meaning the government was legally obligated to work for his release.
Russian authorities arrested Fogel at an airport outside of Moscow in August 2021 and found he was in possession of about half an ounce of medical marijuana he had been prescribed in the US for chronic pain.
Fogel had been living in the Russian capital for almost a decade, teaching the children of diplomats and others at the Anglo-American School of Moscow, according to Time magazine.
Reps for the White House National Security Council and the Russian embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
