American school teacher Marc Fogel released from Russia prison and headed to meet Trump
WASHINGTON — American school teacher Marc Fogel has been released by Russia after more than three years in custody, following an arrest for medical marijuana possession, as part of an agreement between Washington and Moscow that the U.S. said came about a result of talks to end the war in Ukraine.
The White House said Tuesday afternoon that Fogel, 63, was leaving Russian airspace with President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and would be back on American soil by the end of the day. Trump later told reporters that he would be meeting with Fogel at the White House around 10 p.m. ET.
In a statement announcing Fogel's release, White House national security advisor Michael Waltz said the president's advisers "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."
As he took questions in the Oval Office after an executive order signing, Trump declined to say what the U.S. offered Russia to release the American citizen.
"Not much," Trump said. "No. They were very nice. We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually, I hope that's the beginning of the relationship where we can end that war and millions of people can stop being killed....We've got to stop that war."
Trump's administration has been actively working on a plan to end the conflict, with the president suggesting he'd be speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin and then pulling back as his administration worked to keep the discussions private. Trump has sidestepped questions about whether he's spoken directly to Putin since taking office. He previously threatened to put sanctions on the country if Putin did not enter into negotiations to end the war.
Fogel has been in Russian custody since his August 2021 arrest in Moscow, when he entered the country on a teaching assignment while in possession of marijuana that his family said was prescribed to him by a doctor to treat chronic pain. He was sentenced in 2022 to a 14-year sentence in a Russian penal colony.
The State Department determined in December during the Biden administration that Fogel had been wrongfully detained by Russia in the case in which he was convicted of drug smuggling. Fogel's family sought the designation, which required the U.S. government to work to secure 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," Fogel's wife Jane and two sons, Ethan and Sam, said in a statement on Tuesday. "Thanks to the unwavering leadership of President Trump, Marc will soon be back on American soil, free where he belongs."
The family added in the statement, which was shared by Fogel's lawyers: "This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal."
It was not immediately known when and where Fogel would be landing. Fogel is from Butler, Pennsylvania, and lives in the Pittsburgh area.
His mother Malphine said in an appearance on Fox News that she spoke to her son by phone while he was at the airport in Moscow earlier in the day. "It was just a total shock," she said. "It's just an unbelievable situation."
Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Deluzio, a Democrat who represents the Pittsburgh suburbs, said he learned about the release around the time that it was made public and did not know the details of the agreement between the Trump administration and Russia.
But Deluzio said in a call with reporters, "The fact of the matter is, he's finally coming home, and I'll commend anyone who worked alongside me and so many others, up to and including the highest levels of our government, to bring Marc home. And I think there's a lesson that folks should expect their government to always fight for them."
Deluzio was part of a bipartisan group of Pennsylvania lawmakers that sent the Trump administration a letter in January urging it to make Fogel's release a priority. They expressed disappointment that he was not released at the same time as Americans Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva as part of a prisoner swap that took place in August. Fogel was also left out of a December 2022 prisoner swap that led to the release of WNBA player Brittney Griner.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., who also signed the letter, thanked Trump and Witkoff for securing Fogel's release in a Tuesday statement. “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 said.
The White House did not immediately provide additional details on what went into the release, which came as U.S. officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, prepared to discuss the war that is approaching its third anniversary with European leaders at the Munich Security Conference.
Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine Keith Kellogg was also expected to visit Ukraine this week, and the president said Monday that he soon planned to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Trump administration has indicated it wants to see the war end before the second-term president hits 100 days in office this April, or within the first six months of this year.
"Europeans have to own this conflict going forward. President Trump is going to end it," Waltz said on "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "And then in terms of security guarantees, that is squarely going to be with the Europeans."
(This story has been updated with more information and new photos.)