Josh Duggar has been arrested by federal authorities (update: he’s been charged)

josh duggar 3

2015 was the year everything went to hell in the Duggar family. That was when In Touch Weekly began doing some real-deal investigative journalism into Josh Duggar. As it turns out, Josh molested at least five children when he was a teenager, and two of those children were his younger sisters. The reason In Touch had information to FOIA-request was because law enforcement had been contacted in some of the cases, but Josh got away with less than a slap on the wrist – he was basically sent to a camp to pray away his predatory tendencies. That was a long-running saga and the Duggars have attempted “comebacks” over the years. Josh is still accepted as part of the family, but from what I understand, his sisters have gotten some emotional and physical distance from him.

The molestations were only part of the story though. Like so many Christian cults, there has always been a lot of shady sh-t going on with the Duggar family finances. Josh is part-owner of a “car dealership” in Arkansas, and there have been widespread rumors that the dealership is little more than a money laundering front or something far worse. In 2019, Homeland Security raided the dealership… and it didn’t seem like anything came of it. So now this happened:

Josh Duggar is in custody in Arkansas … federal law enforcement sources tell TMZ. The reality star was arrested Thursday by federal agents in Washington County, and he’s being held in a detention center without bail.

We’ve obtained Duggar’s mug shot, showing the former reality star posing with a bizarre smirk.

As we reported … back in November 2019, Homeland Security agents were crawling around the car dealership where Duggar works in Arkansas, raiding his office in connection to a federal probe.

Josh’s only current legal dispute, as far as we know, is a civil lawsuit filed against him for real estate fraud. It would appear his latest arrest is for something far more severe, though it’s unclear exactly why he’s been taken in.

[From TMZ]

No one is saying what the charges are or why the feds are involved. The 2019 Homeland Security raid on the car dealership might have been part of a larger investigation, and it could be that federal authorities have been given free rein to make arrests now that we’re 100 days into into a Biden administration. I imagine the Bill Barr DOJ likely sheltered a lot of these far-right wingnuts from investigations and prosecutions. I honestly hope that the arrest isn’t for what I think it’s for. I hope it’s just illegal business activities.

Update: I am beyond disgusted. Duggar was arrested and formally charged with receiving and possessing child pornography. One count each, he could end up serving decades in prison.

Josh’s wife Anna just announced that she’s pregnant with their seventh child, a girl, last weekend.

Photos courtesy of Instagram.

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192 Responses to “Josh Duggar has been arrested by federal authorities (update: he’s been charged)”

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  1. intheknow says:

    There is no way I could marry or stay married to someone who molested kids. No. Just NO. He creeps me out. And how could she trust leaving the kids around him??? I am sorry to say but that sort of thing doesn’t just go away even with intensive therapy.

    • BearcatLawyer says:

      He did not have therapy though. His “treatment” at the time of the original offenses was to do three months of construction work for a family friend’s company. There were no actual mental health treatment or qualified professionals involved.

      • Keroppi says:

        And the family friend that they contacted who was also in law enforcement is now in prison himself on child p0rnography charges

      • Leslie Irizarry-Moore says:

        Exactly, this is what happens when you don’t properly treat the problem and just cover it up. I feel bad for all the children in this family

      • (The OG) Jan90067 says:

        WELP… I think what we thought as the worst is what it is. The Pedo “declined” to have charges read, and the Judge said IF he does make bail, a requirement will be that “…he MAY NOT be in a household with minor children.”

        Must be a charge of either trafficking, child porn, or diddling little girls again.

        JFC!!!!

      • Zapp Brannigan says:

        @jan the daily mail have the story, he is charged with downloading and possession of child abuse images, some children were under twelve years old.

      • (The OG) Jan90067 says:

        Thanks, Zapp. I just got the People “alert”. I hope he didn’t touch his own, as well.

    • Alexandria says:

      Maybe she had no choice and no support. Maybe she is dependent on Josh for her children and her expenses because she has no career or education? I don’t know much about her.

      • Amanda says:

        That’s what I’m thinking. She probably has little education and no job experience. She is completely dependent on Josh.

      • Seraphina says:

        I agree with you Amanda. And It’s difficult enough raising children on your own with a career – I would think she is terrified of being on her own. If she is a product of this lifestyle, then breaking away would seem undoable. And he kept impregnating her, with each child it further solidified she would not leave. It takes a very strong woman to be able to leave under the best of circumstances.
        Heck, my husband went out of town on a business trip and I nearly lost my wits. Take away the income too? Yeah, it would take a very strong woman. The bigger question is, how much is enough to push her to leave.

      • lucy2 says:

        I agree. The women in that cult are oppressed, isolated, kept uneducated, told their only purpose is having kids, etc. It’s not surprising she’s still stuck in it. Even if she wants out, she probably has nowhere to go.

      • Lola says:

        She does have somewhere to go. Her own brother went on the war path when all of this originally came out years ago that he had molested his younger sisters, and at least one other girl, including one of them who was 5 years old at the time.

        Her brother begged her publicly to leave him and offered a place to stay with her whole family and full financial support. She didn’t. Now the reasons why she didn’t are very numerous and complex. But it’s not true that she has nowhere to go, she absolutely does.

      • Lua says:

        Alexandria, no, her brother has been trying to get her to leave josh. She has support. Shes brainwashed.

      • Chaine says:

        Let’s stop excusing women who give moral support and enable child molesters, please. For any of us posting here, if you learned your husband had molested four of his sisters, wouldn’t you take your own little girls immediately and leave for their safety and security even if it meant you were living in your car and applying for food stamps? Besides, as others have posted, Anna’s family gave her a way out years ago and not only did she not take them up on it, she went on to have MORE DAUGHTERS with this pedophile! No tears for her. This federal arrest could be the best thing that has ever happened for her children’s future.

      • Valois says:

        She has almost a million followers on Instagram. She could monetize that and be fine if money was the only concern. I’d argue the brainwashing and indoctrination she went through is the real problem.

      • lucy2 says:

        I forgot she has family members willing to help her. But it’s brainwashing for sure. I feel bad for all of the women in that cult. It’s abuse.

      • Maple 🍁 says:

        @Alexandria
        No choice?? No choice???
        There is ALWAYS a choice.
        And the choice should ALWAYS be to keep your children safe from a known sex offender.
        That she has no money and no support is not true. There are like 500 people in that family. She 💯 could have turned to someone for help.

      • Alexandria says:

        I’m not defending the wife. Of course it’s common sense to take your kids away. I hate this family but I can also see it’s a cult. Both can be true. If (and I said if) someone here is a victim of domestic abuse and rape, you don’t ask why didn’t she leave, because it takes a lot, and years to leave. If she’s a willing participant or enabler, then she should face consequences. I don’t disagree.

      • kelleybelle says:

        Surely we know she’s a fool, right? She has to be.

    • SarahCS says:

      How much choice do the wives have though? Whether through brainwashing or coercion I don’t see them as free agents in this.

      • Amanda says:

        Exactly. Not only are they brainwashed, but they have little education and no job experience, so even if they did realize the situation, they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

    • keroppi says:

      There is also a ton of brainwashing that goes on in this cult. Women must submit to their husbands in everything. Women don’t receive an education and are left very vulnerable and naive. She likely doesn’t have friends outside their cult. Anna and Josh live on his parents’ property.

      Her family gave her an out last time in 2015. I hope that they are able to get her out and get her help.

    • Arpeggi says:

      That’s the thing about arranged marriage in a cult: their parents never asked her opinion about the match. Besides, her family might be as messed up and she believes that’s just how men/boys are and who is she to question a man?
      It’s sad and gross and I can’t believe it’s still happening in 2021. There needs to be changes so that those kids are sent to public schools and get a proper education and to ban arranged marriages

      • BothSidesNow says:

        I think arranged marriages should be illegal, especially if either party is a minor which in many states minors can marry if they have the consent of a parent. This isn’t a religious or country were arranged marriages are the norm. It’s about time that the government stop this illegal human trafficking practice which it basically is since it’s usually the woman that becomes a less than seen human and is just used.

    • Noodle says:

      Any troubled fundie kid just gets sent to this ALERT camp, which is basically just “pray the sin away”. That camp is owned and run by the family of one of the Dugger son-in-laws, who is married to Joy Duggar. There is so much darkness with this family and many of the families in the Gothard cult, but they keep it in house and tamped down as much as they can. If you are on Reddit, r/duggarsnark is a great sub. It’s chilling the levels of avoiding accountability the men in the cult are allowed to sink to.

      • Ohpioneer says:

        Alert was founded by Ron Furhman and is based in Big Sandy TX. The Duggar son in law’s family owns a camp in Arkansas, Forsyth Family Camp but it is not affiliated with Alert.

      • Noodle says:

        You’re right, @ohpioneer, I confounded the two. There are so many opportunities at brainwashing, I can’t keep them straight!

      • Noodle says:

        You’re right, @ohpioneer, I confounded the two. There are so many opportunities at brainwashing, I can’t keep them straight!

    • Jess says:

      Oh she knew what he did to his sisters BEFORE she married him, it wasn’t too long after that they met and married. She knew and didn’t care, she was only shocked by his affairs and porn addiction. I used to feel sorry for her but don’t anymore, she knows what he is and she continues having little girls he could easily prey on. I do hope she leaves now, I’m sure his parents will take care of her and the kids, or TLC will let her film again now that he’s out of the picture.

      • Spicecake38 says:

        I agree completely.It is sad because she has been brainwashed, but she is a mother and has to protect her children ;she has been forced to face his infidelity and porn problems.Her sister in Florida I think who escaped their cult was willing last time around to take her and the kids in.
        This is not victim blaming (even though I do believe she has been a victim of a cult for years)but she has to be the parent who keeps the children safe at this point because he won’t and his parents won’t either.
        We are all faced with terribly hard choices in life and she is the one now who has to do what is right and save herself and those kids.

      • Noodle says:

        @jess, her parents knew. Whether they told her the whole truth is not verified. She comes from a fairly poor family and they wanted her to marry into the family for their own financial gain. She may have been their puppet in all of this, originally.

      • CJ says:

        Yea f that. Stay for your own reasons as I’m sure they can be complex in this type of situation but you dont get to keep kids there and be innocent.

      • Heat says:

        I have no doubt that her parents knew, even if she didn’t. The families likely thought that getting Josh married off would control his sinful “urges”.
        And Anna? She was groomed for this her entire life. For those who say that she has the choice to just leave: that’s not really true, in her mind. Anna’s only support system is fellow cult members, and they are all probably making her feel that this is somehow her fault. She’s been conditioned to stay, no matter what.
        I hope that someone, outside the “church” steps in and helps Anna and the children free themselves of this horrific mess. And I hope that someone also steps in the assess their kids. Isn’t their oldest daughter 11?

    • Gab says:

      She has not many choices. Her family situation is similar to the Duggars except impoverished. She was forced, as a teen, to marry Josh by her equally abusive father. She met Josh at a homeschool convention as a child. She has no education or work experience to speak of.

    • MM2 says:

      She may be brainwashed, or she may be a willing participant in his abuse and/or cover up. Some women are victims & some are passive perpetrators who think their partners are higher on the totem pole of life & deserve to abuse others. They will be passive, but suddenly active participants when defending the pos, like the wicked witch’s flying monkeys.
      I know we don’t like to look at these sickos, because it’s so depressing, but Camille Cosbys & Ghislaine Maxwells exist.

    • L84Tea says:

      Oh God, I just saw. It’s child porn charges. It IS as bad as people suspected. How disgusting.

    • FeedMeChips says:

      It was child porn involving a child under the age of 12. Anyone who has been paying attention to this creep and his family saw it coming.

    • GrnieWnie says:

      I know, from having read a magazine published for a Quiverful audience, that molestation and abuse are rampant…and they absolutely DO encourage staying together. These people seem to rank divorce as the highest sin of all. It’s mind-blowing.

    • minx says:

      If he’s been arrested for child porn they have the goods on him, the charges are serious.

    • Randie says:

      It is disgusting…
      It is shocking the reality of these sick people. I’m talking about the wives. My aunt stayed with her husband after he molested my sister and went to prison.
      It is a sick world we live in.
      She is just as much to blame as him.

  2. ThatgirlThere says:

    It’s gonna be bad when revealed and I think we all know what it is.

    • Keroppi says:

      There are so many choices as to what it could be. There’s no end to the sleeze and disfunction with them.

    • Spicecake38 says:

      Yeah I’m sickened to think of what he’s done,because I think we are all pretty sure it involves children probably even his own.

    • lucy2 says:

      For him to be held without bond by the feds, I’m thinking it’s pretty bad too.

      Given all the far right yelling about trafficking, and the unsurprising revelation that the loudest ones are traffickers themselves, and this turd’s hobby of hanging on far right politicians…it’s a good guess where this is going.

      • Chaine says:

        He was just arrested yesterday so bond probably hasn’t been set. That will probably be part of the hearing today.

    • Izzy says:

      The judge said Duggar must live with a 3rd party if bond is granted that “has no minors living in the home.” So given that and the involvement of the feds, child sex trafficking or p0rn, or both.
      UPDATE: They released the indictment. It’s child p0rn. I’m sickened, but not at all surprised.

      • keroppi says:

        same. Not surprising but horrifying!

      • Lucky Charm says:

        Thinking about if he is released on bail, the only one without any minor children that he could live with is newlywed brother Jed and his wife, but I think that certainly won’t help his brother’s aspiring political career. Family values, indeed!

  3. Persephone says:

    I’m so sorry for those six children (and the one on the way).
    And his wife may be a victim too…?

    • agnes says:

      She’s a woman in the quiverfull cult, born in it, raised in it, still living in it. Of course she is a victim.

      But by bringing more children into this cult and by having them with a known child molester and by staying with him, letting him be around these childen: she is not only a victim, she is also complicit.

      • Emily_C says:

        That’s what a cult does. The members are both victims and villains. Some, like Josh, lean far more to one side than the other. But it’s why education about how toxic groups work is so important, and why I think we should be doing tons of research on how to get people to leave these groups. We don’t have an answer yet.

      • jwoolman says:

        Not surprising that she continued having children with him. Her beliefs include always being available sexually to your husband and not using any contraception and having as many children as possible, with the goal of outnumbering us heathens and heretics and raising many soldiers to fight in the war against Satan and his minions (that’s us heathens and heretics). That’s why so many Quiverfull families are impoverished, they continue having children well beyond their ability to financially provide for them.

        The Duggars are one of the exceptions, thanks to TLC and a lot of luck. They even had land that could be rented to cell phone companies, and Duggar Prime was in the state legislature just long enough to get cheap medical insurance for him and his family cheap. Plus they get tax deductions for having their house considered a church.

        They were struggling financially themselves before TLC came along. But money begets money – once you have it, you have business opportunities that are difficult to get into otherwise. So TLC undoubtedly provided a firm financial footing that persists unto the next generation. So they can continue to be fruitful and multiply as much as they wish. Hopefully that means that if Josh is convicted and sent to prison, his wife and children will still be taken care of financially even if she doesn’t take up her family’s offer of going to live with her brother or sister.

      • Rose says:

        When you are convinced that’s what god wants you to do and you and your kids go to hell if you don’t….no, you don’t think you have a choice. Because you’re already convinced there’s no escape.

    • goofpuff says:

      At what point do we give women their own agency to be responsible for their own decisions? Yes its a cult. Yes she’s brainwashed. But at the same time, she’s a grown woman responsible for many small children. I don’t like when we infantilize grown women.

      • Maple 🍁 says:

        @goofpuff
        💯💯💯
        🙌🙌🙌

      • Emily_C says:

        It’s not about infantalizing women. It’s about understanding what cults do to the minds of anyone in them, no matter their gender. It’s a prison of belief, and it’s harder to break free from than an actual physical prison.

      • Kimberly says:

        i don’t see the wife as a victim at all, and more a co-conspirator, ignorance isn’t a defense

  4. Brittany says:

    This whole defiantly regressive family creeps me out. I am not shocked at all they protected a child sex offender who happened to be their son.

  5. Leonelda says:

    Yes and let’s not forget the Ashley Madison scandal. Ugh such a gross man.

  6. Esmom says:

    Just seeing his face again yesterday, combined with the Rudy G fiasco, brought up a feeling of despair, one which I have often but just felt even more acutely, wondering at just how broken our country is. The people we have elevated and rewarded…versus the people we have ignored and dismissed…it’s beyond f^#ked up. We are so very broken. I’m not holding my breath waiting for the arc of the moral universe to bend towards justice anymore. It seems impossible.

    • Darla says:

      Really? I see things as unraveling for team evil, especially this week. Rudy raided, Gaetz’s friend writing a confession to child trafficking for both of them, who knows who Duggar is gonna flip on.

    • Emily_C says:

      We only know about these men now because things are changing. In the past, they’d have all gotten off scott free, and been elevated even more.

      The past was not the pretty land we’re often taught it was. Now we’re shining light in those dark places. It’s a good thing.

      My grandmother said the only people who liked the 1950s were those who didn’t have to live through them. That’s the grandmother with the good husband, not the grandmother whose husband beat her regularly in the 1950s and 60s.

      • lucy2 says:

        That’s how I feel too – these monsters and the widespread pain they cause have always existed. But now we’re in an era when things come to light, and sometimes there are even consequences.
        Five years ago, if someone had told us Cosby, Weinstein, Epstein, etc would be arrested, prosecuted, convicted, I don’t know if any of us would have believed it. We obviously have a long way to go, but there has been progress.

      • Otaku fairy says:

        So true, society was definitely not better.

    • Esmom says:

      Thank you for talking me off the ledge, you make very good points. I guess I was looking backwards and thinking about how so much of society seemed to adore some of the worst people on Earth instead of looking forward to them finally being exposed and punished. As for things unraveling, I feel like we have been here before and not actually changed. But I guess we can hope that Gaetz, Trump and his cronies will eventually face consequences. And it is good that this Duggar is locked up.

    • deering24 says:

      I’m looking forward to Merrick Garland cleaning house on folks like this. 😎😎

  7. Oh_Hey says:

    I’m praying this is for shady business practices and not something else. Also it really does seem that these regressive family values folks, often in the ranks of “protect the children internet cults” are the actual creeps. Without fail, it’s always projection.

    • Roo says:

      To borrow from a comment I read elsewhere, it makes sense when you think about the type of man attracted to this type of cult – he gets a submissive wife who is told by the church to be “joyfully available” for sex when he demands it, she’s told to keep sweet and remains infantilized without any real education or job prospects, he’s the head of household and his decisions are final, and he’s not expected to have any duties in the home or with the children. I’m sure abuse is rampant in this type of culture, and I hope the walls are finally starting to crumble.

    • Emily_C says:

      Not just often. Always. I read a lot about cults, and it is 100% of the time.

  8. Tanguerita says:

    why did it take so long?

  9. Watson says:

    Glad that Karma is finally flowing his direction. Have fun in jail you disgusting pedophile!!!

  10. Laughysaphy says:

    He’s being held without bail because he hasn’t been arraigned yet. He goes before a judge around noon EST apparently. We should know the charges today…hopefully it’s financial and not something more sinister.

  11. Seraphina says:

    One would think, after all he did and only got a slap on the hand, he would have straightened his up his act.

    • Roo says:

      Seraphina, he only became emboldened.

    • SarahCS says:

      See the comment above by Roo, I think these men see themselves as invincible.

      • cassandra says:

        They’re raised to become the end-all be-all head of the household where women are expected to submit to their husbands in all things. Frankly, I imagine a lot of the Duggar boys see themselves that way.

        If anyone wants to do a deeper dive into fundie religion I recommend the discussion board FreeJinger

    • Spicecake38 says:

      You’re saying that as a morally good and responsible human,in this garbage person’s mind it made him feel vindicated and free to do what he was doing and even worse.

      • Seraphina says:

        Spicecake38, I would have thanked Jesus I didn’t go to jail and taken that get out of jail free card (pun intended) and turned myself around. Now, maybe they had enough on him and were finally able to prove everything. I don’t know.

      • Spicecake38 says:

        Seraphina-yes to what you said !

  12. Lauren says:

    Just a correction, but 4 of those children were his sisters.

    • jwoolman says:

      The fifth one might have been related, unless her family was just good friends with his family. She was staying overnight at his house when she was molested by him. I think that’s why it ultimately became public, her parents weren’t so willing to be quiet about it if I am recalling correctly. One of his sisters was only six years old when he molested her.

      The Duggars really did everything wrong in dealing with Josh and the girls he molested. If there was any chance to change his path, they missed it big time.

  13. grabbyhands says:

    I hope that expression is the result of being drunk/high and not the smirk of a monster that says “I got away with it for this long – I’m untouchable” because he deserves every bad thing that should be coming to him.

    I hope it’s tax/fraud related because the alternative means more victims than he’s already created and a lot of nauseating, hypocritical excuses from him, his family and all of the pseudo religious wing nuts poisoning this country.

  14. keroppi says:

    It’s a personal fascination of mine and I have gone down the rabbit hole researching this group. If anyone wants to do some reading on this cult:

    * Bill Gothard is the cult leader and has incredibly toxic views and has been accused of sexual assault http://www.recoveringgrace.ca
    * The cult that they are a part of is called Quiverful and you can read stories of survivors and learn about more of their other leaders. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/nolongerquivering/

    • cassandra says:

      I mentioned this above, but check out FreeJinger if you haven’t already. I’ve been a fundie watcher for like a decade now

  15. Arpeggi says:

    That mug shot! He’s high as a kite, eh? I hope daddy and mummy are soon arrested too: even of it’s “just” money laundering, they surely are involved as well

  16. Dee says:

    Cult people doing cult things. Why in the world were these people given a TV show?

  17. carolyn says:

    Generations of neglect and denial of what it means to raise children. Having so many children is indefensible, JimBob and Michelle. I hope the buck stops here, and that those 7 children get help to the right path. What a sad story.

    • Ann says:

      Yeah, I don’t like to child-shame people. I knew a lot of people in big families growing up, and I am one of four myself (the biggest family in my neighborhood had ten). I also have friends who have three or four kids. But there is a big difference between four and seven, or twelve, or NINETEEN. Also, none of them raise their kids as the Duggars do, keeping them away from school and social activities. They’re responsible parents who have kids because they love them and enjoy parenting, not to fulfill some crazy cult leader’s vision. They raise them in the sunlight to be their own people with good, common-sense values.

      I feel so badly for those girls.

  18. jferber says:

    He does look like a depraved monster in that pic. Resting Satan face. Gives me the shivers. Also, he’s got the eyes of a python. Predator and smug as hell.

  19. BearcatLawyer says:

    Homeland Security does not typically arrest people already inside the US. But the most common investigations they run are smuggling, human trafficking, and…child porn/sex crimes committed overseas.

    • Anners says:

      Oh yuck! My first thought was human trafficking because homeland security was involved. I hope not. But if so, I hope the victims are rescued and the entire network shut down.

    • Ann says:

      Ugh, how horrible. And sadly unsurprising.

    • (The OG) Jan90067 says:

      This was, sadly, my first thought as well, considering his history and that cult’s history.

      Pray for all of the children in that cult, none are truly “safe”.

    • BearcatLawyer says:

      Called it! What a sicko.

  20. Jordana says:

    I went to Anna’s instagram to see if any comments on this arrest have appeared…none so far. Comment section looks like the cult’s cheerleading squad.

    And then, then I saw that one of my friends is following Anna Duggar. I’m feeling really weird (slightly ill possibly) about this. So many questions.🤢

    • Spicecake38 says:

      Maybe your friend wants to see what she’s going to do??
      But yeah that these kind of people have so many supporters is beyond me. I am surprised Anna is “allowed “an Instagram but it probably makes them some money and we know the almighty dollar is the bottom line for these people.
      They say G-d but live the exact opposite and will take money over morals every time.

      • Jordana says:

        I remember, back when I was on facebook, this friend had posted about Josh Duggar during the time of his arrest, and said how disappointed and disgusted she was, and that she regrets liking their show on TLC and watching it. I guess anna still deserved a follow. 🤷‍♀️

  21. Enis says:

    I would not be shocked if this involved human trafficking for labor purposes. It’s an issue that is not talked about as much as it should be in that area, especially with Marshallese people.

  22. Lola says:

    The “Duggars Snark” subreddit on reddit is extremely eye-opening about everything going on with that family.

  23. Who is this boy that the Duggar’s are raising ? And who in their right mind allows children around someone like this?

    • Alice says:

      Michelle’s great-nephew, Tyler. Tyler’s mom (Michelle’s niece) was unable to care for him (allegedly drug issue, unemployed and homeless) so he was being raised by his grandmother. The grandmother had a big stroke and was unable to continue caring for him so Michelle and Jim-bob took over temporary custody. I believe they were appointed his permanent legal guardians a few years later.

      I know way too much about this family haha.

      Also, F%$& Josh Duggar.

  24. Lola says:

    By the way there’s going to be a press conference at 11 am US Central time today wherein Josh Duggar will go before a judge and we’ll hear what he has been charged with.

  25. Kathy Kack says:

    It was actually 4 SISTERS not 2. It included Jinger and Joy Anna.

  26. nicegirl says:

    Throw away the key

  27. JT says:

    What’s even more infuriating about this, is that multiple outlets did write ups on the happy family having their 7th baby. He admitted to molesting his sisters but y’all want to talk about the new addition? For real? Now he’s been arrested by the feds. Unbelievable.

  28. Ohpioneer says:

    He molested FOUR of his sisters, one of whom was only six years old at the time.

  29. Amelie says:

    Very nervous to hear what the charges are. If it involves anything to do with what we know of his past, would he be allowed to be around his own kids? If he’s in jail I guess it doesn’t matter but I doubt he would be allowed visitation with them? I feel bad for his wife, she is totally brainwashed and surrounded by these horrible people and is just as much a victim of abuse as her kids. I know Anna has siblings that got out of the cult–I’m hoping they can extricate her and her kids from the Duggars. Even if it’s “just” money laundering, I would hope the fact her husband has been arrested this time around is an eye opener to her. Her husband isn’t going to change and the Duggars are only going to enable him. I hope a light flips on in there because every time Anna speaks, you can tell there isn’t much there.

    Also, as more time goes on, I think more and more siblings will break free from the parents. Jill and her husband Derek who I know have been problematic in the past have loosened up a lot and are not adhering to a Duggar lifestyle at all. They have been open about their struggles and how they are not on the greatest terms with Michele and Jim Bob. And Jill owes us zero explanations when it comes to reproductive choices but I doubt she and Derek will have more kids. She’s never come out and said it but I think she was warned by her doctors that if she went through with another pregnancy, it would be lethal to her. She had very difficult births and complications with both sons and it was probably a huge shift for her to realize that women are not just baby making machines. If she wanted to continue to be intimate with her husband, she would have to use birth control for her own medical safety and I bet this caused a huge rift with her family when she maybe announced she was no longer having kids.

    • Meg says:

      Im sure that was eye opening for jill, that birth control isnt just for ‘murderers’ -the duggars call pro choice a ‘holocaust ‘ what bull

      • Amelie says:

        Wow, I didn’t know they said that. I’m sure it was eye opening for her too. I know it’s not just the birth control though, I re-read some of what Jill and Derek talked about and I think the rift has a lot to do with money first and foremost. She and Derek weren’t getting paid their fair share for appearing on the show and had to get a lawyer involved to get their money. I don’t know if it was their decision to leave the show or if they got booted off but I know they talked about being frustrated in not having freedom to do things they wanted the way they wanted. Getting off the show meant they weren’t controlled financially by Jim Bob who holds the purse strings for everyone it seems.

      • Chicken says:

        Wow. I’ve always felt this way to a degree, but I am now just fully disgusted at TLC for giving this dangerous cult a platform and branding them as a cute and quirky family.

    • Sandra says:

      Child pornography.

  30. ChloeCat says:

    These people disgust me. First of all, that car dealership was one of these used car lots that sold cars to people with poor credit, it charged people exorbitant interest rates, so f*ck him for doing that. And as far as having seven kids, don’t these people ever think about what that is doing to the planet? If you want a large family adopt! There’s plenty of kids who need families. They are absolutely sickening, both Josh & Anna.

    • Frida_K says:

      Yeah, but someone like that adopting? They’re not decent people and they’re rotten parents.

      Would you want to be adopted by a pedophile? Would you want to be adopted into a Quiverfull fundie family like this one?

      Personally, I think being in foster would be better than being adopted by a Duggar.

  31. MissObtuse says:

    4 out of the 5 girls molested were his sisters not two! Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy-Ann were all victims. The 5th was a teen girl who was a family friend who use to baby sit for the duggars.

  32. K says:

    Human trafficking? Human trafficking.

  33. OliviaJoy1995 says:

    He looks a little buzzed or high in his mugshot. I’m also hoping it is just fraud and nothing related to children. I assumed it was shady business practices since the US Marshalls are who arrested him and there is a federal hold on him and he cant have bail. Then I read the Feds handle crimes against children as well and now I’m really really hoping it’s just fraud.

  34. Doodle says:

    Charges just came out: receiving and possessing child pornography.

    • Sid says:

      He needs to be put under the prison. I hope the Feds go after him with everything they’ve got.

    • OliviaJoy1995 says:

      Uggh. I’m so disgusted. I was so hoping it was fraud or embezzlement or something. I hope CPS is involved and planning on meeting with their children immediately. I’m guessing Anna might lose her kids if she stays with him after this. She is going to need to get a job too especially if he goes to prison. If he doesn’t go to prison than I doubt he will be employable now. Such a horrible situation.

  35. CooCooCatchoo says:

    Josh was formally charged this morning, according to a Fayetteville news outlet.

    Duggar entered a “not guilty” plea by his attorneys. The two charges brought against him were not read, at the request of his lawyers (oh oh…). Josh will remain in jail until his May 5th hearing. Judge requested that, should Josh be bonded out at that time, he must be released to a “third party custodian.” Can you say flight risk?

    Also, the residence where Josh stays following said bond MUST BE DEVOID OF MINOR CHILDREN. This statement pretty much says it all.

  36. Angelgirl says:

    It was child porn. Possession of porn under the age of 12. He has pled not guilty and he must stay in jail for a week, then he can’t be around kids once he makes bail

    • Betsy says:

      Just saw it. So, so horrific.

      I guess I’m a big old hypocrite because I always thought I was opposed to the death penalty. Turns out I support it in cases of treason and sexual crimes against children.

      • fishface says:

        For me it’s crimes against children. People who commit such crimes are beyond redemption.

    • keroppi says:

      I hope they investigate the rest of the family.

      • whatWHAT? says:

        THIS. OVER AND OVER.

        their gopher-faced patriarch wouldn’t allow the littlest of the girls to wear tights with their legs showing because it would “tempt” boys.

        I mean…how sick is your mind that you see a little girl in a dress and tights and think “what a jezebel, a little temptress”.

        it would not surprise me at all to know that the a-hole who runs the family is a molester, too.

  37. serena says:

    It’s not like I don’t believe in comebacks and learning but in this case, nope, I’m pretty sure the ‘christian camp’ didn’t heal his pedophile tendencies. And while I want him in jail for what he already did, I hope he didn’t do that again because I feel sorry for the victimis and his children.

  38. nicegirl says:

    Dear God, the charges. This loathsome creature needs to rot

  39. Shasha says:

    He has been arraigned and the charges have been revealed. Receipt and possession of child sexual abuse images which he downloaded from the internet. All while he lives in a warehouse with his six young children and is constantly around countless minors at the Duggar family home.

  40. Shasha says:

    I wonder where on Earth he’ll live when he makes bail. Literally everyone he knows has a gang of minor children.

  41. Sandra says:

    Some websites are reporting his arrest was for child pornography….

  42. Lori says:

    Who’s gonna post bail for this guy? I hope they make that sh!t public.

  43. K says:

    I feel revulsion and loathing on a cellular level. He is beyond .

  44. keroppi says:

    At least this time the family can’t keep their dirty little secret to themselves for years.

  45. Kat says:

    No need to beat around the burning bush, we all know from that smugshot why this creep is in custody. It was only a matter of time. Just hope he never laid a hand on his kids, but I’m not holding my breath. With such a warped upbringing, it was only a matter of time before the Duggars got exposed for their level-10 perversion. Waiting now for a tell-all from Jill.

  46. Liz version 700 says:

    So I just got an alert from NBC that the charges are possessing child porn. We all knew it would be something like this. Imagine how many victims he has had access to in just his family alone

  47. Jess says:

    It’s been updated to confirm child pornography, I feel sick.

    • Liz version 700 says:

      We all knew but yes it is sickening. The good news is that each image is a separate charge so the feds can go for broke if the want

  48. Veronica S. says:

    Confirmed to be child porn. Every single one of his children should be removed from that home and placed into protective custody. The mother knew what he was and still married him, and if he did it to his sisters, he’s definitely done it to his daughters. She’s complicit in exposing them to it and should be stripped of access.

  49. Cee says:

    Now that we know why he is under arrest, I wonder what will happen to his wife and their children. She is uneducated and has no money of her own. She is a victim of that cult the same as he is. I hope this is the end for the Duggars. they’re vile and dangerous.

    • Liz version 700 says:

      This family absolutely needs to go away and crawl back under the rock the came out from. The only Duggers I ever want to hear from are ones who escaped

      • Keroppi says:

        I don’t want them to crawl away and hide under a rock, I want them to be exposed for everything. Their cult has existed under a rock from general societ for so long and that’s why they have been able to flourish so well!

      • Liz version 700 says:

        Yes you idea is better expose them to hell and back them put them in jail under a rock

    • Cee says:

      I want them to disappear from TV and popular culture and I want their cult to get burned to the ground, I want them to face charges and go bankrupt trying to get away. I also want minor children to be placed in protective custody and away from predators. I also want all children, minor and adult, to have proper therapy in order to process and be deprogrammed.

      Everyone responsible in creating this monster needs to face public disgrace and jail tine.

      Can you guys tell how angry and triggered I am?

    • Amelie says:

      I think she has a few siblings who escaped the fundie cult lifestyle and have spoken out against the Duggars. My guess is they are her best bet. She can’t stay married to Josh after this. Josh can’t have contact with his kids and she won’t be able to keep them if she insists on staying married to him. That won’t work. She’s going to have to choose and my guess is this will be the wakeup call she needs to get out. If not, the kids will be taken away and I really hope they do NOT go to Jim Bob and Michelle.

      • kelleybelle says:

        I don’t think she is smart enough to get out, or even want to get out.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      The Duggar parents will never let her leave him or lose control of those kids – am sure they have and them under lock and key right now telling his wife that its her fault that this happened. If he can molest his sisters his daughters are a target and all of them need to be removed from that environment and away from the Duggar parents.

      Josh is the favourite child so of course Mummy and Daddy will protect him.

  50. Greywacke says:

    I’m surprised no one has mentioned this, but his wife probably blames herself for his despicable actions. I’m sure his sisters did as well some extent. This is a cult where the man gets every advantage, and women are Eves. Why else keep them shackled in ignorance.

    • Spicecake38 says:

      You have a good point. I don’t know about his sisters (although they may have dressed in a way to “temp”him you know all young girls plus a baby-age 6!Ugh!And his wife probably blamed herself for not satisfying his perverse needs !
      When I was very young I went to a church that taught “Eve ate the apple 🍎 “as in we would never be here but for us temptress females…it was long ago but I’ll never forget what they said and how women were to blame from the whole world going to hell.The men and the women ate it all up-nothing but a cult!

    • lucy2 says:

      Sadly you are probably right.
      I’m going to hope that this is a horrific wake up call, she and her kids get out, and all get a lot of therapy, but I think we all know the chances of that are slim.
      What a disgusting creature he is.

  51. Leslie says:

    F-ck this guy. I hope he rots.

  52. Scarlett says:

    As someone who is a survivor of sexual abuse and assault as a child, I hope he rots in prison for the rest of his life, they sure as hell cannot pray the pedo away. Disgusting!

  53. Soupie says:

    That poor woman. Must be Stockholm Syndrome. SEVEN children in that mess. SMH.

    • kelleybelle says:

      And they kept on breeding after it was exposed that he molested his sisters. They’re both sick.

  54. HeatherC says:

    Sickened but sadly not surprised. He comes from a religion that teaches little girls can’t wear pants because it tempts men to evil thoughts. He probably believes whole heartedly in his ‘innocence’ because he was tempted into evil thoughts by evil girls.

    His wife gets no pass from me. She knew what kind of guy he was when she got married and if on the off chance she didn’t, when it was exposed about him molesting his sisters, she should have known. I realize she’s been raised in this insanity but her own family has offered to help get her out.

    If he is released home after bail (and I’m sure the hat is being passed around the various Duggar households) the kids should be taken away.

    • Renee says:

      If he is released on bail, part of the court requirement will be that he can’t be near minors. He won’t be able to go home.

  55. nutella toast says:

    Pornography means that someone may or may not have consented. Children can never consent in that way. Please don’t call it child pornography. Please call it what it is – child sexual violence imagery or child sexual exploitation images / content. It’s not being “PC”. It’s being clear that the child had no consenting part or say in the production of the pornography. Unbelievably, when you call it “porn”, people sometimes say, “well, they weren’t TOUCHING them so it’s less harmful”…yeah, but someone did and you just made it lucrative.

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      @nutella toast, you explained it so well.

      I hope he gets more than up to 20 years imprisonment. Life sentence works for me.

    • Aud says:

      I have seen numerous news outlets refer to it as images/video of child sexual abuse. A much more accurate description.

  56. jferber says:

    He has three young daughters now, soon to be four. I hope he has not . . . What a horrible story and a horrible family.

  57. MerlinsMom1018 says:

    Judging by his mugshot he really has no remorse. I read that IF he gets bail he has to have a “third party custodian that could live with him and would ensure compliance with the conditions of bond” according to Judge Erin Wiedemann.
    She also said he would not be allowed to have minors at him if he were released.
    I wonder if his children will undergo mandatory counseling and if the wife is under scrutiny too, but she is probably clueless.

    • CooCooCatchoo says:

      He’s a smug, unrepentant SOB.
      I hope every BIT of the law comes crashing down on his head.

  58. Jojo says:

    SMH He probably molested his daughters just like he molested his sisters.That behavior doesn’t just stop without extensive therapy.

    • nutella toast says:

      Or sometimes even with extensive therapy. The average offender has affected the lives of 76 children in the course of a lifetime if they are allowed to answer honestly without additional consequences. It’s unlikely it stopped when he was a teen. Also, child on child offending accounts for approximately 40% of child abuse cases – if it’s addressed with actual counseling (not just construction work), there is a chance it doesn’t become a lifelong problem. If it isn’t, this is the result.

  59. Faye G says:

    Disgusting, beyond sickening. Anna and her children’s lives are pretty much ruined now, if they haven’t already been. Josh needs to be put away for life.

    Also, can somebody sue the daylights out of TLC for putting this family in the public eye in the first place?

    • Deanne says:

      TLC has candy coated this bunch of cultists and child abusers since 2004. It’s sickening how they’ve been presented as being “wholesome”.

  60. SusanRagain says:

    Awful. Vile.
    This news makes my stomach turn.
    Those original Duggar parents are terrible people.
    To know that he abused young children, including his own siblings, is horrific.

    I hope he rots in jail!
    Hope many lawyers refuse to take his case, he should be shunned by everyone.
    No punishment is enough for anyone who victimizes a minor child.

    His wife and children surely will need years of therapy to break the cult-like mind control.

    I was raised Roman Catholic and IRL I know many people who still believe the women are on earth to serve men, bear and raise many children, never work away from the family farm, etc.
    Education = choices and opportunity IRL. These IMO, these religious lifestyles are out dated and often times lock families and followers into what is effectively a cult/isolation.

    If her birth family or anyone is offering help, support, comfort and a way to escape and get her children to safety, may her Jesus lead her to do it.

  61. PixiePaperdoll says:

    This must be why there is suddenly a check-out-Jana’s-boyfriend theme in the news.

  62. Aud says:

    I hope child protective services in involved to evaluate custody. Anna cannot be trusted to keep her children safe. Something needs to happen there.

  63. Abby says:

    I am so so so distraught thinking of his children. And all the dozens of nieces and nephews he’s been around. The images are described as sexual abuse of children under the age of 12….which is the worst kind of child pornography. Photos of sexualized children are horrific, but he was getting off on depictions of actual abuse. It’s just so evil.

    Clearly, Josh was abused as a child. The Duggars totally failed to keep most of their kids safe obviously. He has spent his whole life acting out. I hope CPS investigates into his children’s lives and they have the opportunity to disclose. It’s just tragic that actual counseling probably won’t be permitted past a “pastor.”

    • Lola says:

      There have been reports from confirmed members of their former church that Josh said years ago that Jim Bob’s father, “Grandpa Duggar” exposed him to porn as a young child, and apparently other young boys “walked in on” him looking at porn as well.

  64. Golly Gee says:

    Kaiser, please use the picture of him beside a smiling Ted Cruz for all future stories. Another deplorable creep.

  65. Kimberly says:

    that insta post revealing the pregnancy was gross….just seeing that we were watching a pedophile surrounded by kids announcing he’s having a little girl….
    :::shudders:::

  66. deering24 says:

    Whoa. Merrick Garland is _not_ playing with him or Gaetz. Right-wing scum, start shaking! 🤣🤣

  67. bungholio says:

    No surprise that these religious nuts are child molesters. It’s like the religious people who used to protest Pride when I was in college. One or more of them were later caught trying to pick up little boys in a sketchy white van.

  68. T says:

    Once a molester, ALWAYS a molester. His children are never going to be safe around him. No kids ever will be. And if his wife doesn’t take them and run now, I hope Family Services steps in to find a safe home for those poor kiddos. If her family really is anti-cult, I pray they are able to take the children and care for them because if their mother cannot leave for their safety, she is as much a part of the danger as their father.

    • Lola says:

      Her family aren’t anti-cult, they are the ones who basically sold her / arranged marriaged her to the Duggars in the first place. Though she may have one or two “black sheep” siblings who are anti-cult.

  69. Kricket says:

    Years ago I started thinking how terrible this family was. Mom and Dad had typical childhoods but their own kids had to act and dress and behave a certain way. Whilst the parents kept on breeding for profit for spoils from a tv show it came out that every older child was ‘given’ a younger child that they had to be responsible for.

    When you have that many children that you can’t manage them all yourselves and have to co-opt major parts of their care to older siblings, that’s a sign to stop. I’m not talking about older children pitching in and helping out from time to time. You make a child, YOU should parent it. Maybe if they weren’t so busy making more kids for fame and thumping their chests and going on and on about the bible and their religious beliefs to the world, maybe, just maybe they could have identified their sons problems and gotten him help alot earlier.

    Maybe it wouldn’t have helped but I get really annoyed when a family made themselves out to be perfect, claiming that perfection was in no small part possible because of their religion when all they were doing were breeding for money and fame. Just a different way of selling out their family.

  70. MangoAngelesque says:

    Those poor children. I hope Protective Services are doing some seriously deep dives into the well-being of every child he’s had access to.

    And I know people may disagree, but if any of their children were victimised after it first came out what he’d done, then I’m sorry, but Anna is complicit in their trauma. She stayed and kept those innocent children with a monster. It’s COMPLETELY his fault, and she needs deprogramming, but as someone said upthread, she doesn’t get a pass.

    But oh, I hope this guy gets put under the freaking jail. The only solace is knowing that the most despised people amongst inmates are the ones who are in there for crimes committed against children. So…there’s that.

  71. Loolaa says:

    @Kaiser
    I was actually four of his sisters. The fifth one was a young baby sister and not a member of the family. The youngest was only 5 years old. It just breaks my heart. When they went public, they said that it was “light touching” “over the clothes” “when we were sleeping”, but the police report shows otherwise. I hope he goes down for a long, long time.