Trump Brings U.S. Marine Home After Biden Abandoned Him in a Russian Prison for Four Years

Biden abandoned a U.S. Marine. Trump brought him home.

Biden traded drug carrying basketball player Brittney Griner for a convicted Russian arms dealer “merchant of death” Viktor Bout.

JUST IN: President Trump announces he’s secured the RELEASE of US Marine Robert Gilman detained by Russia for FOUR YEARS

Gilman is on his way back to America, and President Trump says he’ll have a CHEESEBURGER waiting for him at the airport

“After my discussions with… pic.twitter.com/Q72qRB13Bo

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 11, 2026

Today, after more than four years of detention in Russia, Robert Gilman is on his way home to be reunited with his family. Mr. Gilman joins over 100 Americans whom President Trump has freed during his second term in office.

We thank Russia for working with Special Envoy Steve… pic.twitter.com/tw9zDX6IMu

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) August 11, 2026

Joe Biden left U.S. Marine Robert Gilman languishing in a Russian prison for more than four years—while trading the notorious “Merchant of Death” to bring Brittney Griner home.

VIDEO: The “Merchant of Death” We Traded Loves America More Than Brittney Griner Does

Friendly reminder:

Biden left U.S. Marine Robert Gilman rotting in a Russian prison for more than four years.

Meanwhile, he traded the “Merchant of Death” to Russia to bring Brittney Griner home instead.

Biden abandoned a U.S. Marine.

Trump brought him home.

That’s the…

— Gina Milan (@ginamilan_) August 11, 2026

Kremlin releases ailing ex- US Marine Robert Gilman from Russian prison

One US official said that Gilman’s release was “an act of goodwill” by hardline Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

By: Jerusalem Post, August 11, 2026:

Moscow on Tuesday freed a former US Marine jailed in Russia since 2022 after Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a pardon for the ailing American based on humanitarian reasons, US officials said.

The White House and the State Department had urged Moscow to release Robert Gilman, 32, so he could receive medical treatment in the United States.

Gilman was being held in a prison in Voronezh, about 340 miles south of Moscow. The exact circumstances of his health are unclear.

“All things considered, he seems to be in good shape,” the official said.

Gilman will be evaluated on the flight by four doctors, said US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. His mother, Nina, was also on board.

The US officials said Gilman, upon arrival at Dulles, will be greeted by US envoy Steve Witkoff and deputy national security adviser Sebastian Gorka, both of whom had sought Gilman’s release along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, US special envoy for hostage response Adam Boehler, and other officials.

After that, Gilman is likely to be flown to a rehabilitation center in San Antonio, Texas, for medical treatment, the officials said.

Gilman, who served in the US Marines from August 2019 until August 2020, was traveling by train when he was arrested in January 2022 in Voronezh, Lebson said.

He was detained for allegedly kicking a police officer while drunk, according to Russian state media.

However, his father, Vladimir Gilman, who emigrated to Massachusetts from Russia, wrote in an October 2024 Boston Globe op-ed that the charges were false.

His son, he said, had fallen ill when the incident occurred and accidentally kicked the officer. The officer was uninjured, dropped the charges, and did not present evidence at Gilman’s trial, he wrote.

Robert Gilman was sentenced to four and a half years in jail. He was one of at least 10 Americans known to be imprisoned in Russia.

US officials said a senior Russian official, Yuri Ushakov, informed Trump aides last week that Putin had agreed to sign a decree pardoning Gilman for humanitarian reasons, given Putin’s friendship with the president.

The release resulted from intense negotiations over the weekend by US and Russian officials. The US did not exchange any Russian prisoners in order to gain Gilman’s release, the officials said.