Mother of Air Force veteran held in Russia comes to the White House to beg President Donald J. Trump for help

October 5, 2026 · Day 1,218

Media alert · Monday, October 5, 2026

Glenda Garcia’s son, Michael “Travis” Leake, an American citizen and U.S. Air Force veteran from Bakersfield, California, has been held in Russia since June 6, 2023. Today is Day 1,218. His advocates have asked the State Department to designate him WRONGFULLY DETAINED. It has not.

Today the family filed a renewed request for wrongful-detention designation with the State Department. The letter is available to reporters on request.

Who	Glenda Garcia, mother of Travis Leake, in Washington to ask President Trump to bring her son home. She is available for interviews on site.
What	Ms. Garcia will demonstrate at the 17th Street barricade, the closest she can get to the White House press gate.
When	Today, Monday, October 5, from about 12:00 p.m. ET, and for as long as it takes for someone in the administration to meet with her.
Where	17th Street NW barricade, outside the White House, Washington, D.C.
Visuals	A mother with signs bearing her son's photograph and his day count.
New	A previously unreported audio message from Travis, recorded in the penal colony: In his words.

To be explicitly clear, we are not protesting President Trump or his administration. Quite the contrary. A mother is asking the President her son proudly supports to bring him home.

Background

Travis Leake turns 55 on October 15. He is serving 13 years at IK-6 in Melekhovo, Vladimir Oblast, the penal colony that held Alexei Navalny until December 2023.

It’s fair to say Travis is a Trump super-fan. He has put his faith in President Trump, whom he voted for twice and would have voted for a third time had he not been detained. His handwritten letter to the President is below.

Russia accuses him of selling mephedrone, a synthetic club drug comparable to what Americans call “molly.” The case began when Moscow police caught his former girlfriend carrying packaged mephedrone. She then named her American ex. At trial she testified that the officers were “extremely interested” in her connection to an American and “slightly euphoric” when he was arrested, and that they told her “to initially report more.” In closing, his Russian defense lawyer told the court the lead officer “is still saved by the fact that the next detainee is an American.”

His case was the subject of David Browne’s Rolling Stone feature, “‘I Was Taken Hostage’: How an American Metal Rocker Landed in Russian Prison” (April 2025), which won first place for music feature writing at the Los Angeles Press Club’s 2025 National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.

For reporters

• Press kit, fact sheet and photos: freetravisleake.com/press
• Audio from Travis: freetravisleake.com/in-his-words
• Renewed designation request: available on request

Press and official inquiries: jonathan@lucidpublicrelations.com. Text, Signal, WhatsApp: +1 310 713 4351.