An American teacher who was detained by Russia is heading back to American soil, the Trump administration announced Tuesday.
“President Donald J. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff have successfully facilitated the departure of Mr. Witkoff from Russian territory along with Marc Fogel, an American citizen who had been detained by Russia,” shared National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in a statement.
“Through negotiations led by President Trump, Steve Witkoff, and the President’s team, an agreement was reached for the exchange, demonstrating a gesture of goodwill from the Russian side and indicating progress towards resolving the ongoing conflict in Ukraine,” Waltz further emphasized.
Following his arrest at a Russian airport in August 2021 on charges of possessing drugs, which his family and advocates claimed were legally prescribed marijuana, Marc Fogel, a history instructor from Pennsylvania, had been serving a lengthy 14-year prison sentence.
Ellen Keelan, center, and other family members rally outside the White House for the release of Marc Fogel on July 15, 2023. (AP/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Waltz said in his statement, “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,” he added.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., praised Fogel’s return as well as the Trump administration for working to free him from Russian detention.
“Marc Fogel’s return home is long overdue – and I know all of Pennsylvania, especially his family, will be welcoming him back with open arms. I commend President Trump and Steve Witkoff for their efforts in finally bringing Marc home.”
On X, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro welcomed Fogel’s return.
“After more than 3 years in Russian captivity, I join his family, our federal partners, and all of his fellow Pennsylvanians in welcoming Marc Fogel home — exactly where he belongs. Thank you to those at the @WhiteHouse who made his release possible, and to his wife Jane, mom, siblings, and kids here in Pennsylvania who never, ever gave up.”
Former CIA station chief and Fox News contributor Dan Hoffman called the release Tuesday a “major foreign policy success.
“Any time we are able to extract one of our citizens from behind enemy lines in Russia, good on the administration for doing this. Steven Witkoff has got a lot on his plate right now dealing with the Middle East, and it’s incredibly impressive to me that on top of that he was able to secure the release of Marc Fogel,” Hoffman told Fox News’ “America Reports.”
Fogel had been left out of a massive prisoner swap in August 2024 that freed multiple Americans, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and corporate security executive Paul Whelan.
Fogel taught at AAS Moscow (formerly known as the Anglo-American School of Moscow). (Ellen Keelan and Lisa Hyland)
Fogel never complained about the conditions of his detention, aside from actually being detained, his mother said.
Fogel was a 1984 graduate of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
“After graduating from IUP, Marc devoted his life – 36 years – to education,” the school’s president, Michael Driscoll, wrote last year. “He taught history courses at schools attended by children of U.S. diplomats in Colombia, Venezuela, Oman, and Malaysia.”
Last summer, Malphine Fogel met with Trump before he took the stage at the rally in Butler, Pa., that ended early because of an assassination attempt.
“He was just as cordial as could be,” she said. “He told me three different times, ‘If I get in, I’ll get him out.’ I really think he’s been really instrumental, him and [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio,” she said. “I really feel they were instrumental in getting this to happen, and I just want to thank them. I would like to thank him (Trump) profusely. He promised me he would get him out, and he kept his promise.”
“He said, ‘We’ll get him out,'” she added.
On Tuesday, she told “America Reports” that “I think the first thing he’ll do is kiss the ground” when he arrives in the United States.
Fox News’ Landon Mion and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
