White House rally held for Butler native Marc Fogel
Former students, friends and supporters of Butler native Marc Fogel held a rally Monday outside of the White House in Washington, D.C., to urge the government to gain his release from prison in Russia.
Fogel, a 61-year-old husband and father of two who lives in Oakmont, Allegheny County, has been detained since August 2021 when he was found in possession of less than an ounce of medical marijuana after he landed at an airport to return to a Anglo-American school in Moscow where he worked as a teacher. He was prescribed the medication in the United States, but marijuana is illegal in Russia.
His appeal of his sentence to serve 14 years in a penal colony was denied in August. He is being transferred from where he was being held in Moscow to the colony.
Fogel’s sister, Lisa Hyland, of O’Hara Township in Allegheny County, said she was aware of the rally, which was organized by some of his former students, and hope it leads to the Department of State taking action to have him returned home.
“My brother has friends all over the world, and there are a lot of people who want to help,” Hyland said Monday.
“We're looking for every voice that wants to speak out on his behalf because we haven’t heard anything from the (Biden) administration. They’re dragging their feet,” she said.
Fogel’s mother, Malphine Fogel, commented on a photo from the Facebook event.
“Thank you so much for your loyalty to Marc — you were very visible and hopefully seen by the powers that be — thank you again,” she said.
Letters from lawmakers including U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly, R-16th, Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-15th, Conor Lamb, D-17th, and others seeking to have Fogel designated as wrongfully detained and to have him released haven’t produced results yet, she said.
“I’m supportive of anything to keep attention on his case and get the administration to move,” Hyland said.
