Marc Fogel (b. July 28, 1961)
Marc Fogel became a cause célèbre and political football when he was caught carrying 17 grams of cannabis through a Russian airport in August, 2021. The Pennsylvania-born Fogel was a history teacher at international schools in Colombia, Malaysia, Oman, Mexico and Venezuela. He had lived and worked in Russia since 2012, teaching at the Anglo-American School of Moscow.
Fogel was sentenced to 12 years in prison under Russia's harsh laws, despite having a recommendation from a Pennsylvania doctor to use medical marijuana for chronic pain due to severe back injuries. The Biden/Harris administration refused to classify him as "wrongfully detained," as it had done with WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner, and was unable to secure Fogel's release.
The Right-Wing press had a field day over Fogel's ongoing imprisonment, especially after Kamala Harris entered the presidential race. Trump blasted her for her past prosecutorial record for marijuana crimes, and she was painted as weak and uncaring over the Fogel case. In the most bizarre political moment of the campaign, Trump met with Fogel's 95-year-old mother Malphine before the Butler, PA rally where a gunman shot at him.
Fogel was freed in February 2025, weeks after Putin's puppet Trump took office, and was greeted by the president and a group of government officials and lawmakers at the White House. Standing next to Trump in the Oval Office, Fogel invoked Winston Churchill's famous phrase, "Never was so much owed by so many to so few," saying that in his case, "Never has one owed so much to so many." He spoke of "the superorganism of people that came to my support," mentioning his fellow Pennsylvanians, and his family & friends.
Indeed, Fogel's release is a testament to the power of activism. Fogel's family, friends and former students mounted a sustained campaign to have Marc released, enlisting the help of elected officials and academics. An was mounted in Pittsburgh, for which 100 artists contributed portraits of Marc to put a human face on his plight. (Pictured: Tom Mosser's portrait of Marc.)
After his release, Marc and Malphine Fogel sat with Melania Trump at the president's 3/4/25 address to Congress, where he ended his 90-minute speech by introding the Fogels and segueing into the story of the Butler rally, announcing that he believed God had spared him that day so that he could Make America Great Again. Fogel was honored at a Pittsburgh Penguins game with a jersey made for him, and he threw out the first pitch at the Pittsburgh Pirates home opener.