08.01.2024
BIDEN ABANDONS MARC FOGEL
MARC, WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN YOU.
PRESIDENT TRUMP TOLD MARC’S 95-YEAR-OLD MOTHER THAT HE IS COMMITTED TO BRINGING MARC HOME IF HE BECOMES PRESIDENT. THREE YEARS IS PAST TIME FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN TO DO THE SAME.
NO OTHER DETAINEE SHOULD BE PUT BEFORE MARC. TEACHERS MATTER. REGULAR PEOPLE MATTER. CELEBRITIES SHOULD NOT BE THE ONLY ONES WHO MATTER.
MARC AND BRITTNEY GRINER WERE TRIED IN THE SAME EXACT RUSSIAN COURT, BY THE SAME JUDGE, CONVICTED UNDER THE SAME EXACT RUSSIAN CRIMINAL STATUTES, ONLY SENTENCING GUIDELINES WERE DIFFERENT.
SHE CAME HOME. BIDEN AND SECRETARY BLINKEN LEFT MARC. HE IS ALONE AND HIS BODY IS FAILING. HIS FAMILY IS BEREFT.
MARC MUST BE DECLARED WRONGFULLY DETAINED, WHICH MAKES HIM ELIGIBLE FOR A PRISONER SWAP AND BRINGS THE WHOLE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO FIGHT FOR HIM. IT GIVES HIM PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTHCARE BEYOND THE RUSSIAN PRISON SYSTEM. IT PROVIDES FUNDS TO THE FOGELS TO FIGHT FOR HIM.
THEY ARE NOT MILLIONAIRES. HE IS NOT A CELEBRITY. HE IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER OR A WORLD KNOWN NEWSPAPER REPORTER. HE DOES NOT HAVE NUMEROUS PASSPORTS—HE IS ONLY AMERICAN AND EVEN BIDEN’S AMERICA IS NOT FIGHTING FOR HIM.
BRING HIM HOME. MAKE HIM MATTER. MAKE HIS FAMILY MATTER AS MUCH AS BRITTNEY’S MATTER. AS MUCH AS REPORTERS’ FAMILIES MATTER. AS MUCH AS DUAL CITIZENS MATTER.
MARC NEVER MEANT TO BREAK THE LAW. HE PLANNED ON DECLARING HIS MEDICAL MARIJUANA AT RUSSIAN CUSTOMS BECAUSE THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT CHANGED HIS VISA FROM DIPLOMAT TO REGULAR FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER 9 YEARS OF TEACHING AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOLERS OF OUR DIPLOMATS IN MOSCOW.
HE WAS ARRESTED BEFORE HE REACHED THE RUSSIAN CUSTOMS OFFICER. RUSSIA HAD PREVIOUSLY LET FOREIGNERS BRING IN MARIJUANA WITH A PHYSICIAN’S PRESCRIPTION. ALL OF THIS IS IN HIS COURT TRANSCRIPTS.
American teacher
has been unjustly imprisoned in Russia for over
MARC FOGEL
1,040 DAYS
We need to show President Biden and his State Department that Marc Fogel is as important as Brittney Griner. She deserved to come home.
He deserves to come home.
Please support Marc & the Fogel family in this effort.
EMAIL PRESIDENT BIDEN AT swasserman@joebiden.com
1. SAY MARC FOGEL’S NAME
2. DESIGNATE MARC FOGEL AS WRONGFULLY DETAINED (LIKE HE DID BRITTNEY GRINER)
3. BRING MARC FOGEL HOME IN THE NEXT AMERICAN/RUSSIAN PRISONER SWAP
#GershkovichWhelanFogel
Ask Pennsylvania Senators Casey (trace_ledgard@casey.senate.gov) & Fetterman (mitchel_henderson@fetterman.senate.gov) to say Marc Fogel’s name, tell President Biden to designate him as wrongfully detained, and to bring him home.
Tell him to:
TAKE ACTION:
Marc Fogel is a beloved son, father, husband, brother, teacher and proud American who was detained on August 14th, 2021 in Russia and was sentenced to 14 years in a maximum security penal colony for the same crime as Brittney Griner.
MARC’S AILMENTS
X-Ray of Marc Fogel’s Back & Spine
Marc struggled for years with debilitating pain ultimately resulting in three failed back surgeries including a spinal fusion, two knee operations, a hip replacement, and rotator cuff surgery. Marc chose to forgo opioids and narcotics. He didn’t like how they made him feel and witnessed the destruction they had caused. Instead, he used medical marijuana to manage his pain. He had a prescription card when he was detained and arrested in Russia with a limited amount of medical marijuana. Today, Marc’s condition continues to deteriorate in his prison cell four hours north of Moscow.
WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED IN RUSSIA.
#FREEMARCFOGEL
Media
TribLIVE: Lawmakers, leaders call for release of Marc Fogel
Marc Fogel of Oakmont has been an international teacher since he was a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In August 2021, he was arrested at the airport in Moscow for possession of 17 grams of marijuana, legally prescribed in Pennsylvania for a well-documented history of back and knee pain over decades…
TribLIVE Editorial: Can Jill Biden help bring fellow teacher Marc Fogel home from Russia?
“Teaching is not what you do. It’s who you are.”
President Joe Biden made that statement in May when addressing the Teachers of the Year dinner…
Standard Speaker: Mrs. Fogel 'grateful for the many people' supporting her son's release from Russia
In a statement to The Indiana Gazette, Malphine Fogel expressed her appreciation with the newspaper’s coverage of her son Marc Fogel’s case and her family’s efforts to bring him home.
The statement came as the 95-year-old Armstrong County native and Butler resident was pressing a civil lawsuit filed this week in the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh against Secretary of State Antony Blinken…
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Mother of Oakmont’s Marc Fogel frustrated with Biden administration as she pleads for his release from Russia
Surrounded by artwork that strangers have painted of her son, 95-year-old Malphine Fogel is a lesson in practiced stoicism.
She is upbeat but pleading when she talks about her son, Marc, who is nearing the third anniversary of his detention in a Russian prison, and she is polite but firm as she expresses her immense frustration with the president and his administration…
Leader Times: Fogel's mother sues Blinken in new bid to call her son 'wrongfully detained' in Russia
The campaign to bring Marc Fogel home from a Russian jail now is going through an American courtroom.
The mother of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) alumnus is suing United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania…
WTAE: Lawsuit against Sec. of State claims Blinken failed to designate Marc Fogel as wrongfully detained
BUTLER, Pa. —
The mother of an Oakmont teacher arrested in Russia in 2021 is suing the Secretary of State.
Malphine Fogel filed a lawsuit against Antony Blinken and the United States Department of State…
Indiana Gazette: Marc Fogel's mother sues Blinken in new bid to call her son 'wrongfully detained' in Russia
The campaign to bring Marc Fogel home from a Russian jail now is going through an American courtroom.
The mother of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania alumnus is suing United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania…
TribLIVE: 'We're on our knees': Family continues to push government to help bring Marc Fogel home
The family now has three goals, and each one leads to the next.
Force those in power to say Marc Fogel’s name…
CBS News: Marc Fogel's mother sues U.S. government to have her son designated as 'wrongfully detained'
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Marc Fogel's mother is suing the U.S. government in an effort to get her son home from Russia…
Butler Radio: Fogel’s Mother Sues Federal Government
The mother of a Butler native who is currently serving prison time in Russia is now suing the federal government.
95-year-old Malphine Fogel filed the suit earlier this week, saying she has been given no explanation why her 62-year-old son Marc Fogel is not being classified as “wrongfully detained.”
Fogel was arrested three years ago after he was found in possession of medical marijuana, and was sentenced to 14 years of hard labor…
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel's mother sues U.S. government to designate her son 'wrongfully detained' in Russia
The mother of an Oakmont teacher detained in Russia for years sued the U.S. government Tuesday, accusing Secretary of State Antony Blinken of treating her son and his case differently than those of other Americans detained in Russia, namely WNBA star Brittney Griner…
Cranberry Eagle: Marc Fogel’s family sues Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Department of State
Marc Fogel’s mother filed a lawsuit Tuesday in an attempt to compel the federal government to determine if her son is being wrongfully detained in a Russian prison.
Fogel, who grew up in Butler, taught English at the Anglo-American School of Moscow and was returning there in 2021 when a search of his bag turned up a small amount of medical marijuana he’d been prescribed for back pain. He was arrested, tried and sentenced to 14 years in prison for drug trafficking…
TribLive: Marc Fogel's family sues U.S. government over failure to declare him 'wrongfully detained'
The mother of an Oakmont teacher held in Russian prisons for nearly three years filed a federal lawsuit in Pittsburgh on Tuesday against the U.S. Department of State over its failure to declare Marc Fogel as wrongfully detained…
Butler Eagle: Marc Fogel’s family sues Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Department of State
Marc Fogel’s mother filed a lawsuit Tuesday in an attempt to compel the federal government to determine if her son is being wrongfully detained in a Russian prison…
WTAE: Marc Fogel's mother fighting for his freedom as US Senate passes resolution calling for release
For Malphine Fogel, it's simple. She wants her son, Marc, back home.
"He's not a criminal," Malphine Fogel said. "He is a dedicated teacher. He was always a good son, a good husband, a wonderful father and he needs to come home..."
TribLIVE Newsroom Podcast: TribLive unpacks the exclusive interview with Marc Fogel
Last week, TribLive was able to sit in on a call between Fogel and his 95-year-old mother, Malphine.
Host Zac Gibson is joined in this episode by Community Engagement editor and Opinion columnist Lori Falce to discuss this experience, listen to Fogel’s interview, and relay more of his story…
TribLIVE Editorial: Biden is changing U.S. stances on marijuana. He should bring Marc Fogel home from Russia for medical marijuana use.
The Biden administration has expressed over and over a desire to see change regarding the way people are punished for marijuana use. The administration could take a stand on that by standing behind an American teacher in pain, in need and in a foreign prison — and just, please, bring him home.
TribLIVE: Marc Fogel speaks about his health and hope of returning home in interview from Russian prison
After nearly two years in a Russian prison, Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel said Thursday he is able to live with excruciating joint pain but pleaded for U.S. officials to bring him home, the hope of a miracle never far from his thoughts…
Butler Eagle: Short Film Sheds Light on Marc Fogel’s Imprisonment
For Marc Fogel, a Butler native, Oakmont resident and international teacher, Thursday, May 9, marks 1,000 days spent behind bars in Russia. A short film highlighting the impact of his absence and imprisonment on his family and friends will be submitted to film festivals following its screening Wednesday evening…
Congressional Corner
Six Members of PA Delegation Join Together To Write Letters of Support for Marc Fogel
Lawmakers, leaders call for release of Marc Fogel:
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), and Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA)
Malphine and Anne Fogel along with President Driscoll of IUP with Senator Fetterman (D-PA)
Sam Fogel with Senator Fetterman (D-PA)
Sam Fogel with Congressman Deluzio (D-PA)
Malphine Fogel and President Driscoll of IUP with Congressman Reschenthaler (R-PA)
Malphine and Anne Fogel with Congressman Evans (D-PA)
Sam Fogel and Cy Burchenal with Congressman Gosar (R-AZ)
Sam Fogel and Cy Burchenal with Senator Cruz (R-TX)
Malphine and Anne Fogel with Senator Cruz (R-TX)
Sam Fogel and Cy Burchenal with Senator Van Hollen (D-MD)
Sam Fogel and Cy Burchenal with Senator Daines (R-MT)
Malphine and Anne Fogel with Senator Daines (R-MT)
Sam Fogel and Cy Burchenal with Senator Tester (D-MT)
Sam Fogel and Cy Burchenal with Congresswoman Kim (R-CA)
Malphine and Anne Fogel with Congressman Allred (D-TX)
Malphine Fogel with Congressman Self (R-TX)