White House National Security Advisor Michael Waltz announced Tuesday American Marc Fogel, a school teacher previously working in Moscow, is coming home after spending more than four years in a Russian prison.
“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,” Waltz released 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.”
Real time photo of Marc@Fogel@coming home. @realDonaldTrump @SteveWitkoff @StateSPEHA pic.twitter.com/FIAm8fwZtL
— Adam Boehler (@aboehler) February 11, 2025
“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,” Waltz continued.
Our prayers have been answered.
— Guy Reschenthaler (@GReschenthaler) February 11, 2025
Thanks to President Donald J. Trump's leadership, Marc Fogel has been freed from Russia!
Marc spent 1,255 days locked away in a Russian penal colony under the Biden Administration.
President Trump freed Marc in just 22 days. pic.twitter.com/JJQZ1K6X9Y
The Biden administration repeatedly failed to get Fogel out of Russian detention after he was wrongfully detained in 2021. It wasn’t until 2025 that former NSA Jake Sullivan publicly declared Fogel had been wrongfully detained. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison and hard labor for carrying a nearly untraceable amount of medical marijuana. He used it for severe back pain. At the time of his arrest, Fogel was teaching at a school in Russia. He has a wife and children in the United States.
While Fogel remained in prison, the Biden administration exchanged “Merchant of Death” Viktor Bout for Griner.
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