Washington — The White House announced Tuesday that it has negotiated the release of Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher who had been held in Russia since 2021.
White House national security adviser Michael Waltz said that Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, was leaving Russian airspace with Fogel, who was serving a 14-year sentence and was designated as “wrongfully detained” by the U.S. late last year. Waltz said he would be on U.S. soil by Tuesday night.
“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 said in a 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.”
The White House did not provide details about what the U.S. was giving up in the deal with Russia. Mr. Trump told reporters that he would greet Fogel at the White House on Tuesday night.
Adam Boehler, the Trump administration’s envoy for hostages, posted a photo of Fogel on the plane back to the U.S.:
A history teacher from Pennsylvania, Fogel was arrested by Russian authorities at the airport in Moscow in 2021. His family had said he was carrying 17 grams of marijuana for medical reasons to treat chronic back pain.
His family had pushed for Mr. Trump’s predecessor, former President Joe Biden, to secure his release, particularly after Fogel was left out of prisoner swaps negotiated by the previous administration. In December 2022, Russia released WNBA star Brittney Griner in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Then, last August, the Biden administration secured the release of three more Americans from Russia — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Marine veteran Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva — as part of a 24-person prisoner exchange.
In addition to Fogel, that deal omitted several other Americans imprisoned in Russia, including musician Michael Travis Leake, U.S. Army staff sergeant Gordon Black and Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina.
In a statement, Fogel’s family thanked Mr. Trump and other allies who fought for 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,” they said. “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.”
Martin De Luca and Andrew Smith, Fogel’s legal team, also praised the president and his administration for their work in freeing him.
“Marc Fogel’s release is historic, long overdue, and a testament to the power of strong leadership,” they said. “After years of bureaucratic inaction including consistent refusals to designate Marc as wrongfully detained, President Trump secured Marc’s release in just a few weeks, wasting no time in taking decisive action to bring Marc home.”
Pennsylvania’s senators, John Fetterman and Dave McCormick, cheered Fogel’s release.
“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,” Fetterman, a Democrat, wrote on X.
“I am thrilled that Marc Fogel is finally coming home after years of being wrongfully held in Russia,” McCormick, a Republican, said in a post. “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. 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.”
Fogel’s mother, Malphine Fogel, had criticized Biden and his administration for the delay in designating her son as wrongfully detained. That determination that is made by the secretary of state and clears the way for State Department offices and federal agencies to work together to develop a plan to secure the release of a detainee.
She filed a lawsuit against the State Department last June, but the case was dismissed. Malphine Fogel was set to draw more public attention to her son’s detainment during a July 13 rally with Mr. Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, but the campaign event was upended when a gunman opened fire on the crowd. The president and two others were injured, and one man was killed during the assassination attempt.
“I was going to be on stage with him and he was going to mention [Marc’s] name,” Malphine Fogel told CBS News Pittsburgh last July. “We were going to put it out for the whole world to hear. Well, that didn’t happen because we didn’t get on stage.”
She met with Mr. Trump before the rally and said he pledged to secure Marc Fogel’s release if elected to a second term.
