Marc Fogel, an American who had been detained in Russia since 2021, landed back in the U.S. on Tuesday.
Fogel, a history teacher who was working at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, returned to the U.S. after his release from Russia following talks with the Trump administration.
He was serving a 14-year sentence after his arrest in August 2021 at a Russian airport for possession of drugs, which his family said was medically prescribed marijuana.
Fogel was seen in a picture posted by the White House on social media smiling and raising his fist while wrapped in an American flag as he walked off the plane on U.S. soil.
“MARC FOGEL IS BACK!!! PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!!!” the White House wrote on X.
After his arrival in the U.S., Fogel, from Pennsylvania, met with President Donald Trump at the White House and called him a hero for securing his release.
“I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. And President Trump is a hero,” Fogel said after meeting Trump.
“These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes,” Fogel continued. “The senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor – they got me home – they are heroes.”
Fogel added: “I am in awe of what they all did.”
He said he feels “like the luckiest man on Earth right now.”
Trump’s national security advisor, Michael Waltz, had said the U.S. and Russia “negotiated an exchange” to ensure Fogel’s release, although he did not disclose what the U.S. was giving up. Some previous negotiations have involved releases of Russians by the U.S. or its allies in exchange for a detained American.
When asked by reporters on Tuesday whether the U.S. had given up anything in return for Fogel, Trump replied “not much” without offering additional details.
Fogel’s family thanked Trump and others who worked to secure his release.
“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 said in a statement.
“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 added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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