Marc Fogel, the 63-year-old Butler native and former Oakmont teacher, was released Tuesday and is back in the United States.

Fogel, an American history teacher, spent 1,278 days in a Russian penal colony after being was arrested in Moscow on Aug. 14, 2021, for taking prescribed medical marijuana into the country where he was about to begin his tenth and final year teaching at the Anglo-American School.

He was left behind in a prisoner exchange in August during the Biden administration. He finally received “wrongfully detained” status from the U.S. government in December.

Now, a month into the second Trump administration, the White House secured Fogel’s release.

TribLive community editor Lori Falce and reporter Megan Swift spoke with host Zac Gibson about the stunning turn of events.