As RedState reported, Marc Fogel, who was sentenced to 14 years for carrying medical marijuana into Russia and held prisoner, was freed after four years in a Russian gulag. Fogel was escorted home by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. The plane landed in the United States just before 10:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday.
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MARC FOGEL IS BACK!!! 🇺🇸
PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!!! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ZMceoU0OfA
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 12, 2025
This photo was taken while Fogel was in flight. The look of sheer relief and gratitude on Fogel’s face is unmatched.
Real time photo of Marc@Fogel@coming home. @realDonaldTrump @SteveWitkoff @StateSPEHA pic.twitter.com/FIAm8fwZtL
— Adam Boehler (@aboehler) February 11, 2025
Fogel and the State Department envoy team landed at Joint Base Andrews and were immediately transported to the White House to meet with President Donald Trump, who worked to get him freed.
President Trump exited the White House with House Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), Steve Witkoff, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. It was a dramatic tableau as snow fell around them. Fogel had the American flag draped around his shoulders as he greeted Trump, shaking his hand, while the crowd just applauded. After some conversation among members of the Cabinet, President Trump returned to the White House and requested Fogel speak to the press.
Fogel began:
I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now. And uhh… I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. And, President Trump, is a hero. And these men that came from the diplomatic service, are heroes. The senators and representatives who passed legislation in my honor to get me home are the heroes. I know what they all did. My family has been a force. I think my 95-year-old mother is probably the most dynamic 95-year-old on earth right now. And I am so indebted to so many people.
I think I remember a Churchill quote that he said when the RAF was fighting the Luftwaffe, he said that, “Never have so many owed so much to so few,” and I put myself fortunately, and unfortunately into that category, and I said, “Never has one owed so much to so many.” That this superorganism of people who came to my support. And the love that I was given sustained me for three-and-a-half years in a prison that had me in hospitals for more than 100 days. I was given more than 400 injections in that time. And 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. It was my energy, it was my being, that kept me going that whole time.
And I will forever be indebted, President Trump. To Steve [Witkoff] over there, what a dynamic man this guy is. When I met him, the energy, the can-do attitude just exudes from his body. And when he smiled at me and introduced me, and I got the feel for what has happened… It’s not just me, it’s everybody. And Secretary Rubio who met my son a while back… I’m a middle class school teacher who is now in a dream world…
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President Trump interjected: “We’re going to show you the Lincoln Bedroom. It’s a very special, special place, appropriate for tonight, very appropriate.”
Related: BREAKING: Russia Blinks, Frees American Teacher Marc Fogel From Prison
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Fogel concluded. “Thank you all. I love our country, and I’m so happy to be back here. And I wish I could articulate it better.”
Trump spoke up.
You’ve done beautifully. And he’s got a great mother. 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.
Fogel responded, “She told me those exact words.”
Trump said, “She made quite an impression.”
Fogel responded in kind: “And, you also did. And, I am in awe of what you’ve done, and your team.
Trump encouraged, “It’s great to have you back. You’re going to have a great life.”
One reporter interrupted: “Did you speak directly to President Putin about Mr. Fogel?”
President Trump responded:
Well, I don’t want to say that. I just want to say that I appreciate very much what they did in letting Marc go home. And, I appreciate Steve Witkoff, the job he did, and Marco [Rubio] behind the scenes was unbelievable. So many of these people were unbelievable, they represent him, they’re from his area, and we just wanted to get him back home—I had to get him back home, because I would have had big trouble with his mother. We’re going to give him a little tour of the Lincoln Bedroom, which nobody gets to see. And it’s very special. You want to see it?
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Fogel responded to Trump, “I would love to. And I also should make mention that President Putin was very generous and very statesmanlike in granting me a pardon.”
Another reporter interjected, “What were the terms of this deal, Mr. President?”
Very fair, very very fair, very, reasonable, not like deals you’ve seen over the years. They were very fair. And somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of. But we wanted to get this done, very important, and Steve wanted to actually fly over and get Marc and get him home properly, because it can be a pretty tough trip.
A majority of the reporters asked questions surrounding whether a deal to end the Ukraine War had begun. Trump responded,
I think there’s goodwill in terms of the war. You know, a million and a half soldiers, young people have been killed. It’s a terrible thing going on, so we want to get that done. I think this could be a very important element, you could be a big part of it, actually. It could be a big, important part of getting the war over with Ukraine. And we appreciate President Putin, what he did. He was able to pull it off for you, right? And you’re here, and it’s great We’ll tell you a little bit more about it tomorrow. I think we’ve made great progress on the war, also. I want to get the war ended. This war should not have been. It would have never happened if I was president, it would not have happened, and it did happen; now you have blown up cities and dead people. So many dead people. It should have never, ever happened. You could be a big catalyst for just this evening, it’s a very important evening for ending this war.
I don’t want to get into that, I’ll only say this. We got a man home, whose mother and family wanted him desperately, whose state wanted him. He’s become a big symbol. And it’s an honor to have played a small role in that. And I want to tell you these people, they all played a role and we got him home, and he’s healthy—he looks good, actually. To me you look damned good, I’ll tell you that.
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After the initial news of Fogel’s release broke, Fogel’s mother Malphine spoke with Fox News on Tuesday morning and thanked Trump profusely for the return of her son to America.
Malphine Fogel — whose son, Marc, was just released from a Russian jail after being wrongfully detained since 2021 — has a message for @POTUS:
“I would like to thank him profusely. He promised me he would get him out — and he kept his promise, and I can’t thank him enough.” pic.twitter.com/2m02gUJeNd
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 11, 2025
Fogel’s sister Anne appeared on CNN to talk about the moment in Butler, Pennsylvania when Trump spoke with their mother and committed to rescuing her brother. That was a short time before Trump took the stage and was almost murdered by an assassin’s bullet.
Anne Fogel, sister of Marc Fogel, tells the story of President Trump promising their mother that he would bring Marc home:
“He told her then that if he was elected he was going to get him out, and the man was true to his word.” pic.twitter.com/tAAYrLA1Cq
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 12, 2025
Sean Parnell also related the tale of that fateful moment between Trump and Malphine Fogel in Butler.
I was with Mrs Fogel at the Trump rally on July 13th. We spent a lot of time together. She was sitting next to my wife & me. She’s an incredible woman.
I watched her speak to President Trump. He just listened the entire time while she told him about her son Marc who’s been… pic.twitter.com/ivy3CGd0HK— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellUSA) February 11, 2025
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Here’s a longer video of Fogel arriving at the White House and then speaking to the press alongside Trump:
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