After enduring three years in a Russian penal colony, American schoolteacher Marc Fogel was welcomed at the White House tonight by President Donald Trump, following his return to freedom in the United States.
“I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now,” Fogel said alongside Trump. “I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all and President Trump is a hero. These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes. The senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor to get me home are heroes. I am in awe of what they all did.”
Fogel called his 95-year-old mother, Malphine, who has relentlessly fought for his release, “the most dynamic 95-year-old on earth right now.”
After his meeting with Trump, he is expected to go to Texas for medical evaluation and rehabilitation.
Fogel, 63, was given a 14-year prison sentence for possessing medical marijuana in 2021. An employee of the Anglo-American School of Moscow, Fogel spent 27 years teaching overseas, and was planning to retire the year he was arrested. An American doctor prescribed the marijuana after Fogel had surgeries on his back, shoulder, and knee. The State Department designated Fogel as “wrongfully detained” in December.
“Never has one owed so much to so many,” Fogel said, with his own take on a Winston Churchill quote. “Knowing I had the support of my fellow Pennsylvanians, my family, my friends, it was so overwhelming that it brought me to my knees and it brought me to tears.”
Fogel said he appreciates Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, who negotiated his release.
Marc Fogel, draped in an American flag, meeting with President Trump upon his release from a Russian prison. pic.twitter.com/8VLY04013j
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) February 12, 2025
“I’m a middle-class schoolteacher who is now in a dream world,” Fogel said, to which Trump quipped: “We’re going to show you the Lincoln bedroom. It’s a special place.”
“I love our country,” Fogel added, choking up. “I am so happy to be back here.”
Trump spoke about his meeting with Malphine at his July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he told her he would do everything he could to free her son.
“When I saw the mother at a rally, she said, ‘If you win, will you get my son out?’ And I promised—she’s 95-years-old—and I said, ‘We’ll get him out,’ and we got him out pretty quickly. She made quite an impression.”
Malphine told The Daily Wire at the time that Trump promised three times to get him home.
“When I met President Trump, he told me to take his arm because he could see I struggle with walking after I broke my kneecap,” Malphine said. “I just kept telling him he needs to remember Marc’s name.”
The White House shared a picture of Fogel stepping off the aircraft with a giant smile on his face, draped in an American flag, as he arrived in the U.S. after three years.
MARC FOGEL IS BACK!!! 🇺🇸
PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!!! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ZMceoU0OfA
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 12, 2025
“The fact that Marc Fogel is coming home and was prioritized by his country and will be meeting with President Trump tonight means so much to his family,” Free Marc Fogel spokesperson Vicki Iseman told The Daily Wire.
Fogel is reportedly in overall good health upon his return. U.S. envoy for hostages Adam Boehler posted a photo of Fogel on a jet on his way home kissing a drinking glass and holding his American passport.
Real time photo of Marc@Fogel@coming home. @realDonaldTrump @SteveWitkoff @StateSPEHA pic.twitter.com/FIAm8fwZtL
— Adam Boehler (@aboehler) February 11, 2025
Fogel is the 10th American hostage to return home since Trump took office 22 days ago, including 7 Venezuelans, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. On Fox News, Boehler said there are about 6,000 Americans detained in foreign jails, though not all of them are wrongfully imprisoned.
“Marc has taught American diplomats’ children for decades and made major contributions to this country,” Iseman said. “He did not deserve to be detained for three years and coming back with his head held high is something that he does deserve.”
The Fogel family was first alerted to his release on Thursday when they were informed Fogel was moved from the Rybinsk penal colony to SIZO in the Yaroslavl region.
The Daily Wire previously reported on Fogel sinking into a depression after being left out of an August prisoner swap deal with Russia.
“I cannot believe this,” Marc Fogel said on a call to his family, a recording of which was obtained by The Daily Wire. “I just don’t even want to get out of bed. I am shocked and sickened and out of breath and energy.”
Fogel told his family he felt “like a second-class citizen” as the Biden administration prioritized the release of high-profile prisoners like WNBA player Brittney Griner and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the latter of whom was included in the August swamp.
“I think that teachers have just been shat upon,” Fogel said. “It’s hard to have any faith.”
Fogel had strong allies in his corner, including Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), who advocated for Fogel’s release.
“I am thrilled that Marc Fogel is finally coming home after years of being wrongfully held in Russia,” Senator McCormick said in a statement. “I have been working on this since meeting Marc’s mother at the Butler rally in July, and I’m grateful to President Trump and Secretary Rubio for delivering on their commitment to free Marc.”
Rubio called Fogel’s return an example of “promises made, promises kept.”
“After three and a half years of detention in Russia, Marc is finally free,” Rubio said in a statement. “Marc’s release is also a reminder that other American citizens are still detained in Russia. President Trump is committed to bringing all of them home.”
