An American teacher who was detained in a Russian prison and serving a 14-year prison sentence was released on Tuesday following negotiations between President Donald Trump and the Russian government. Marc Fogel, an American history teacher from Pennsylvania, was arrested in 2021 at a Russian airport for possession of drugs, which, according to his friends and family, was prescribed marijuana. Prior to his arrest, Fogel was teaching at the Anglo-American School in Moscow.
After arriving in the U.S., Fogel met with Trump at the White House Tuesday evening, Fox News.
“I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. And President Trump is a hero,” Fogel said after meeting the president.
“These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes,” Fogel continued. “The senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor – they got me home – they are heroes.”
“I am in awe of what they all did,” Fogel said, adding he feels “like the luckiest man on Earth right now.”
In a statement on Tuesday, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz explained that Trump and the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, “are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia.”
“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,” he added.
Fogel’s family shared a statement thanking Trump and others for securing his release.
“We are beyond grateful, relieved, and overwhelmed that after more than three years of detention, our father, husband, and son, Marc Fogel, is finally coming home,” the family said in a statement.
“Thanks to the unwavering leadership of President Trump, Marc will soon be back on American soil, free where he belongs. This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal,” the statement added.
WATCH: Marc Fogel Greeted by Trump at the White House after Being Freed from Russia | ABC News
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Originally published February 12, 2025.
