American Marc Fogel is back in the United States.
Vogel returned Tuesday after being detained in Russia since 2021.
The history teacher was working at the Anglo-American School in Moscow when he was arrest in August 2021 at a Russian airport for possession of drugs, Fox News reported.
His family the drugs were medically prescribed marijuana.
He was serving a 14-year sentence before being returned to the U.S.
“MARC FOGEL IS BACK!!! PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!!!” the White House posted on X.
MARC FOGEL IS BACK!!!
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 12, 2025
PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!!!pic.twitter.com/ZMceoU0OfA
Fogel, born in Butler, Pennsylvania, met with President Donald Trump at the White House.
He called Trump a hero.
“I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. And President Trump is a hero,” Fogel said.
“These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes,” Fogel added. “The senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor – they got me home – they are heroes.”
Fogel also called himself “lucky.”
“I am in awe of what they all did,” he said, adding, I feel “like the luckiest man on Earth right now.”
Michael Waltz, Trump’s national security advisor, said the U.S. and Russia “negotiated an exchange,” but did not state when the U.S. gave in exchange for Fogel.
Trump said “not much” when asked by reporters what the U.S. gave for Fogel’s return.
Fogel’s family expressed its gratitude to have Fogel back on American soil.
“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,” the family sai.
“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,” the statement read.
