Fogel was sentenced to 14 years in prison in Russia, which the U.S. has condemned as a wrongful detention, after a small amount of medical cannabis was found in his luggage.

Marc Fogel arrived in the U.S. on Tuesday night after Russia freed him from detention following envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow for talks that the White House said helped lead to the American teacher's release.

Fogel was arrested in 2021 while returning to Russia with his wife, Jane, and charged with smuggling marijuana he’d been prescribed in the U.S. for back pain.