Marc Fogel, a teacher born and raised in Butler who had been living in Oakmont, was released from prison in Russia after a long and arduous saga for him and his Western Pennsylvania family.
His story — and his release — made headlines across the nation and the world.
Here’s what to know about him and his situation.
Who is Marc Fogel?
Mr. Fogel, 63, is a self-described “middle-class” Butler native, American history teacher and Oakmont resident who, until Monday, had been imprisoned in Russia since August 2021. When he was arrested, he was in his 10th and final year teaching history to American ex-pats at the Anglo-American School of Moscow.
Mr. Fogel had previously taught in Colombia, Malaysia, Oman, Mexico and Venezuela.
Why was he held in Russia?
The official explanation from the Russian government is that Mr. Fogel was arrested and charged after he was found with 0.6 ounces of medical marijuana (legally prescribed to treat severe back pain in the U.S.) in his luggage at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow.
He was arrested a year after Russia stripped teachers at the Anglo-American School of Moscow of diplomatic immunity amid escalating tensions with the West.
What was his sentence?
On June 16, 2022 Mr. Fogel was sentenced to 14 years of hard labor at a remote maximum-security penal colony in the area of the northwest Russian city of Rybinsk, north of Moscow.
What were the allegations during sentencing?
The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs later alleged that Mr. Fogel “used his diplomatic status through the school to import and distribute drugs to Russian children,” claims that were not repeated at trial.
Despite the small amount of marijuana he was arrested with, Mr. Fogel was sentenced as a drug trafficker.
How did the saga play out over the years?
Though eventually freed in a prisoner swap for someone the Russian government had so far only described as “a Russian citizen,” many different efforts have pursued a means to bring Mr. Fogel home over the last few years.
On Aug. 2, 2022, then-Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Greene, co-lead a letter to then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting he “immediately classify Mr. Fogel as wrongfully detained.”
On Aug. 23, 2022, then-Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and other lawmakers urged the U.S. State Department to escalate Mr. Fogel’s status to “political prisoner.”
On Oct. 10, 2022, friends and former students of Mr. Fogel rallied outside of the White House, urging the Biden administration to push for Mr. Fogel’s release alongside negotiations to WBNA star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who were also imprisoned in Russia at the time.
On June 13, 2023, Mr. Fogel was mentioned in a House-passed resolution that also called for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested while on assignment in Yekaterinburg and accused of spying for the U.S.
On Dec. 27, 2023 Western Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation, in a letter to Mr. Blinken, pushed for any future prisoner swaps to include Mr. Fogel.
In June 18, 2024, Marc’s mother Malphine Fogel, 95, sued the State Department, accusing Mr. Blinken of treating her son and his case differently than those of other Russian detainees. Days later she blasted the Biden administration for what she said was a lack of urgency and effort to free her son from Russia.
On Dec. 27, 2024, a filing in Ms. Fogel’s lawsuit against the State Department revealed that Mr. Fogel had been officially designated as “wrongfully detained.” An attorney said the family found out about the designation in mid- to late-October.
In Jan. 24, 2025 Pennsylvania Sens. Dave McCormick and John Fetterman joined a group of other Pennsylvania lawmakers urging U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “do everything in your power to bring Marc home immediately.”
Sasha Phillips, a Pittsburgh-based attorney, worked with the Fogel family on Marc’s case since his arrest.
And Malphine Fogel played an outsize role in representing her son the entire way.
Locals have also led various symbolic efforts to support his family’s cause.
Who was Fogel exchanged for?
The Russian government has only thus far said the prisoner is a Russian citizen, and that their identity would not be revealed until they arrive in Russia “in the coming days.”
Is Fogel back in the U.S.?
Mr. Fogel arrived back on U.S. soil on Tuesday night. Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump, left Russia with Fogel and brought him to the White House, where Trump greeted him.
Real time photo of Marc@Fogel@coming home. @realDonaldTrump @SteveWitkoff @StateSPEHA pic.twitter.com/FIAm8fwZtL
— Adam Boehler (@aboehler) February 11, 2025
How long was Fogel held in Russia?
Fogel has been held approximately since Aug. 14, 2021, approximately three years and six months.
Political prisoners over the years
Mr. Fogel’s arrest came seven years after the initial phase of the Russo-Ukranian War in 2014, and six months before the war escalated with the full Russian invasion of the European democracy.
Due to the conflict — viewed by the West as motivated by the authoritarian government’s expansionist interests in the region — political tensions with allied Western democracies have remained high.
Additionally, Mr. Fogel’s was one of several high-profile cases of Americans being imprisoned by Russia over the course of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
On March 5, 2022, Ms. Griner was detained at a Moscow airport the previous month after authorities found vape cartridges in her luggage. She was sentenced to nine years in prison, before being released on Dec. 8, 2022, in a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
In March 29, 2023, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested while on assignment in Yekaterinburg and accused of spying for the U.S. He was imprisoned until Aug. 1, 2024, when he and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan (held on a 16-year prison sentence, also for alleged spying, since Dec. 28, 2018) were released from prison in a massive prisoner swap that spanned multiple countries and ultimately included 24 people. Many expressed disappointment Mr. Fogel had not been included in that deal.
Those circumstances as well as the legally dubious nature of his case — according to The New York Times, convicted murderers have been sentenced to shorter terms in Russia — led U.S. officials to consider Mr. Fogel’s detainment political.
First Published: February 12, 2025, 2:37 p.m.
Updated: February 13, 2025, 5:18 p.m.
