Washington — The White House announced Tuesday that it has negotiated the release of Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher who had been behind bars 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 in Russia. Waltz said he would be on U.S. soil by tonight.
“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 “exchange” with Russia.
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. Fogel was designated as “wrongfully detained” by the U.S. late last year.
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.”
