Marc Fogel, an American detained in Russia since 2021, is finally back in the U.S.
Fogel, a history teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, returned after his release through negotiations with the Trump administration.
He had been serving a 14-year sentence for drug possession. His family said the substance was medically prescribed marijuana.
A picture posted by the White House showed Fogel smiling and raising his fist, wrapped in an American flag as he walked off the plane.
“MARC FOGEL IS BACK!!! PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!!!” the White House wrote on X.
Fogel, from Pennsylvania, met with President Donald Trump at the White House and called him a hero for bringing him home.
“I am not a hero in this at all. President Trump is a hero,” Fogel said after the meeting.
“These men from the diplomatic service are heroes,” he added. “The senators and representatives who passed legislation in my honor—they got me home. They are heroes.”
He said he feels “like the luckiest man on Earth right now.”
Trump’s national security advisor, Michael Waltz, confirmed the U.S. and Russia negotiated an exchange for Fogel’s release. He did not reveal what the U.S. gave up in the process.
Reporters pressed Trump for details on the exchange. “Not much,” Trump said with a smile, offering no further explanation.
Fogel’s family expressed deep gratitude to Trump and everyone who fought for his release.
“We are beyond grateful, relieved, and overwhelmed,” the family said. “After more than three years of detention, our father, husband, and son is finally coming home.”
They credited Trump’s leadership, saying, “This has been the darkest, most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal.”