Washington – Marc FogelAn American teacher who had been detained in Russia since 2021, returned to American soil on Tuesday evening after the White House announced earlier in the day that she had negotiated her release.
The White House released A photo of a jubilant Fogel landing an airplane at the Andrews joint base in Maryland. Next to him were the national security advisor to the White House Michael Waltz and Adam Boehler, the envoy of the Trump administration for the hostages.
He was then taken to the White House, where he was welcomed outside the northern portico by President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chamber Mike Johnson, among others.
Ting Shen / AFP via getty images
“I feel like the luckiest man of the earth at the moment,” said Fogel in a briefing with journalists alongside Mr. Trump in the diplomatic reception room, calling the president “a hero” to facilitate his back.
“I am a middle class school teacher who is now in a dream world,” said Fogel.
The White House refused to provide details on what the United States abandoned in the agreement with Russia, and Mr. Trump also refused to say how he was reached, describing only the terms like “very fair, very reasonable “. The president also teased that “someone else is released tomorrow that you know”.
Trump would not disclose if he spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of Fogel’s release.
Waltz had previously declared that Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s special envoy in the Middle East, left Russian airspace with Fogel, who was serving a 14-year sentence and was designated as “wrongly detained” at the end of last year.
“President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the President’s advisers negotiated an exchange that serves as a good faith of the Russians and a sign that we are going in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine,” He declared in a press release. “Since President Trump’s Escure, he has managed to obtain the release of the Americans detained worldwide, and President Trump will continue until all Americans stayed in the United States.”
Boehler had published a previous photo of Fogel on the plane to the United States:
A Pennsylvania history teacher, Fogel was arrested by the Russian authorities at Moscow airport in 2021. His family said that he was carrying 17 grams of marijuana for medical reasons to treat chronic back pain.
His family had put pressure for the predecessor of Mr. Trump, former president Joe Biden, to guarantee his release, especially after Fogel was excluded from the exchanges of prisoners negotiated by the previous administration. In December 2022, Russia released the star of the WNBA Brittney Griner in a exchange of prisoners one for a For the international arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Then, last August, the Biden administration secure liberation of three other Russian Americans – Reporter Wall Street Journal Evan GershkovichMarine veteran Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Asu Kurmasheva – As part of an exchange of prisoners for 24 people.
In addition to Fogel, this agreement omitted several other Americans imprisoned in Russia, including the musician Michael Travis LeakeUS military staff sergeant Gordon Black and Russian-American ballerina Ksenia Karelina.
In a statement, Fogel’s family thanked Trump and other allies who fought for his release.
“We are more than grateful, relieved and outdated than after more than three years of detention, our father, husband and son, Marc Fogel, finally returns home,” they said. “Thanks to President Trump’s unshakable management, Marc will soon be back on American soil, free where it belongs. This was the darkest and most painful period of our life, but today we are starting to cure . “
Martin de Luca and Andrew Smith, Fogel’s legal team, also praised the president and his administration for their work to release him.
“The release of Marc Fogel is historic, long awaited and a testimony of the power of strong leadership,” they said. “After years of bureaucratic inaction, including coherent refusals to designate Marc as wrongly detained, President Trump obtained Marc’s release in a few weeks, not waste time taking decisive measures to bring Marc back to the House.”
Pennsylvania senators, John Fetterman and Dave McCormick, applauded Fogel’s release.
“The return of Marc Fogel has been expected for a long time – and I know that all the Pennsylvania, in particular his family, will welcome him with open arms”, Fetterman, Democrat, wrote on X.
“I am delighted that Marc Fogel finally returns home after years wrongly staying in Russia,” McCormick, a Republican, said in a post. “I have been working with the administration to date since the first day and I have been grateful to President Trump and Secretary Rubio for having given their commitment to free his best to bring Marc back home and it is a blessing that this day finally came.
Fogel’s mother, Malphine Fogel, had Criticized Biden and his administration for the delay in the appointment of his son as wrongly detained. This determination made by the Secretary of State and opens the way for state offices and federal agencies to work together to develop a plan to guarantee the release of an inmate.
She has filed a legal action Against the State Department last June, but the case was rejected. Malphine Fogel had to draw more attention from the public to the detention of her son During a July 13 gathering With Mr. Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, but the campaign event was turned upside down when a shooter opened fire On the crowd. The president and two others were injured and a 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 Newsburgh last July.” We were going to turn it off so the whole world heard. Well, that did not happen because we did not go on stage. “”
She met Mr. Trump before the rally and said that he agreed to secure Marc Fogel’s release if he was elected to a second term.
