Joseph Duggar was arrested two weeks ago for a 2020 molestation case. The charges were filed in Florida, where Joseph allegedly repeatedly molested a minor while on vacation. Joseph was arrested in Arkansas and extradited to Florida, where he quickly posted a $600,000 bond. The judge told him to stay away from the victim and to stay away from any and all children. Soon after Joseph’s arrest, his wife Kendra Duggar was also arrested on multiple charges in Arkansas. People Magazine’s sources claim that Kendra’s charges stem from a welfare check conducted at Joseph and Kendra’s home, where they found multiple bedroom doors with locks on the exterior. As in, Kendra was likely locking her children in their rooms. People Mag drew a connection between that situation and Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar locking up their daughters’ bedrooms so their brother Josh Duggar wouldn’t have access to them. All of these stories are horrifying. Well, bizarrely, the police are now releasing audio files of Kendra and Joseph speaking to each other over the phone while he was in custody. TMZ had this:
Kendra Duggar broke down in tears during an emotional call with her husband, Joseph, as he remained in jail in their hometown of Tontitown, Arkansas, last week … and she also pleaded with him not to trust a single soul. Listen to the audio obtained by TMZ from a March 23 chat — Kendra sobs about not knowing how to be there for her and Joseph’s 4 kids while also being supportive of him.
On either side of Kendra’s weep-fest, she pleaded with her husband not to trust a single person aside from her attorney, Travis Story. She even calls her husband out for sneaking in a call with someone apparently named Greg … and she informs Joseph not to trust him.
This is just one of many phone calls TMZ has obtained between the “19 Kids and Counting” stars while Joseph sat in jail. In another eyebrow-raising chat, Kendra tells her husband she retained an attorney for herself … but makes it clear her lawyer will not be shared. And during other calls, the couple speaks about how to increase their cash flow to keep Kendra afloat as Joseph’s future remains unclear.
He was released Tuesday after posting a $600,000 bond. The judge ordered him to stay away from his victim and not have unsupervised contact with any minor. He will be back in Florida for court on April 20.
I question why the Arkansas police are releasing these calls? It’s no secret that these kinds of calls are monitored and/or recorded, but it seems precarious from a legal standpoint to release the audio files to the media before the trial? Even weirder, multiple outlets got access to the audio files, and People Magazine had even more information:
Kendra Duggar acknowledged that she no longer has her four children during multiple jail phone calls with her husband Joseph Duggar, according to audio obtained by PEOPLE.
“I think Friday has probably been my hardest day, but that’s crazy to say because Wednesday was crazy hard,” Kendra tells Joseph during a collect phone call from the Washington County Detention Facility on March 24. Friday was the day of Kendra’s arrest and Wednesday was the day of her husband Joseph’s arrest.
She then adds: “But it’s just like, when you then take my babies from me, they were who I was just going to pour my life into.”
Joseph interjects that the children are Kendra’s “purpose right now.” Kendra also mentioned not having them on a March 22 call when Joseph asked her how their children were doing amid their parents’ legal battles. “From what I hear they are doing good,” Kendra tells him.
Kendra was with her children on March 20 after her release from jail and could be heard talking to them while on the phone with Joseph that evening. In another call, Kendra makes it clear to Joseph that her priority is their children.
“I’m fighting for the kids and they’re my number one priority right now,” Kendra tells Joseph. He responds that he is “100% behind” his wife and says she “should be fighting for them the most.” Kendra then tells Joseph: “I just want you to know, through all of this, whatever happens, that’s who’s coming first,” adding that “then we’ll just see where the rest of it leads us and try to put the pieces together.”
This is some crazy sh-t. Did Arkansas’s children’s services take away their children, or did Kendra send them away to some family member? God, I hope the kids aren’t with Jim-Bob and Michelle. Anyway… these calls are fascinating because it’s like a real-time conspiracy brewing. Kendra doesn’t know who to trust, her kids have been taken from her and Joseph posted bond and now he’s in the wind. Very weird. Will another shoe drop here? More charges filed? Are the charges from Joseph’s 2020 crimes just the tip of the iceberg?
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram.
-
- Tontitown, AR Joseph Duggar of 19 Kids and Counting fame poses for his mugshot after being arrested on for alleged child sex abuse. The married 31-year-old father was arrested in Florida and has been transported back to Arkansas, his home state. Pictured: Joseph Duggar BACKGRID USA 18 MARCH 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: Washington County Sheriff’s Office / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Tontitown, AR Kendra Duggar poses for a mugshot after being arrested for allegedly endangering the welfare of a minor and false imprisonment. Kendra was booked 5pm Friday (March 20) after being arrested in Tontitown AR. Pictured: Kendra Duggar BACKGRID USA 20 MARCH 2026 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
I’m happy she’s putting the kids first, but if you need to lock your little girls up at night to keep daddy out, perhaps you’re a little too late in prioritizing them. Also, I don’t think she locked up the girls until AFTER there was a problem.
Also, locks lock out, but also lock in. I wouldn’t assume those kids were protected.
Terrible as it sounds, considering the history of that family, how do we know that she was not locking the kids in their rooms WITH someone, to keep them from escaping???
ETA – as @Rapunzel says, we can’t assume that those kids were protected.
I know there are mothers who do this, and I already think the worst of her, but I refused to believe this. Plus, the eldest is 6 years old no need to lock her in.
Agree with all of this, for sure.
But can someone help clarify for me: is Joesph ALSO being held legally liable for the locks on the children’s doors? Especially since he is now out on bail from his unrelated FL arrest, shouldn’t he also be held just as accountable as Anna for locking their children up?
Or, if the authorities are fully aware that Anna did it bc Joseph was abusing his own children and Anna did it to either keep him out (or force them to stay in the room with him, as @Rapunzel and @Magdalena point out are also horrible possibilities), shouldn’t he also now be arrested in Arkansas for either child abuse or child sexual abuse charges?
I will not defend Anna but it seems wild to me that if “locks on doors” is a cause for arrest, both parents aren’t held equally responsible?
I’ve seen it reported that both Kendra and Joseph were arrested on the same charges re the locks on the doors. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2026/03/23/joseph-kendra-duggar-arrested-where-charges-florida-arkansas-happy-shiny-people-documentary/89228185007/
Every hard drive from every single Duggar even married in Duggers must be seized and gone through forensically.
This family is hiding some serious stuff.
I’ve been saying that since Josh got arrested. When one finds one mouse in the house, it usually has a friend. That whole cult needs to be brought down.
It is interesting we are getting so much info on their phone calls. I guess since they both got arrested there’s more interest on if Kendra knew what happened in 2020 before Joseph was arrested? Or was she just as blindsided as all of us when the police came knocking?
I know many won’t feel sorry for Kendra but I do. The women grow up so sheltered and that they should be subservient to their husbands. They’re homeschooled and get such a skewed view of what the world is really like.
We’ve heard from both Jill and Jinger who both wrote books about growing up in the cult just how restrictive and oppressive the environment was. Both of them only managed to break free because they married men who were in their corner (Jinger’s husband Jeremy seems more liberal and honestly like the best man out of all the men the sisters are married to).
Anna is still married to Josh because she’s so far in and uneducated and have the Duggars whispering in her ear. I hope for Kendra’s sake her family is a better influence and telling her to RUN. Because that is what she needs to do now. If she stays with Joseph, she is no better than Anna.
Just want to point out that this is exactly what MAGA America is trying to make widespread:
limiting access to education (including dismantling the Department of Education and trying to run the public school system into the ground), states forcing even children to give birth, dismantling health care access, etc., all of which trap girls and women in these abusive relationships and situations.
It may look like the Duggars are a crazy cult family that are unique-ish in their depravity, but this is where Project 2025 is leading the whole nation, and this is exactly what our current administration and most of the GOP want. It is not a coincidence that so many of them are also pedophiles and Epstein-listers.
I would argue that Derick is by far the more liberal of the Duggar sons-in-law. He and Jill have been open(ish) in speaking about their sex life. Jill has been dressing less modestly, wearing pants, got a nose ring, has openly spoke out about the way she was raised and has also spoken about the difficult relationship she has with her parents (particularly her dad). She was also willing to testify for the prosecution at Josh’s trial.
While Jinger and Jeremy are living their California dream, they are still very much entrenched in a very conservative church.
Jessa and Ben are probably one foot in/one foot out. They certainly appear to be in the “quiverfull” movement. 6 kids in 12 years… Ben is a pastor now?
Joy and Austin… not sure what to make about them. They do some home renos together, so at least Joy is “allowed” to work. I think they’re less conservative than how they were raised.
Not much is known about Jana and her husband, but his family appears to be more liberal than the Duggars as well. There’s hope for them yet.
I’m glad that (so far) all the Duggar women have found husbands that don’t appear to be deeply entrenched in the Gothard teachings, but only time will tell to see if any of them make a true break from their family.
(I clearly watched too many episodes of the 19 Kids and Counting franchise and feel horrible for contributing in any way to lining Jim Bob Duggar’s pockets. His involvement with that Gothard cult is probably what started this snowball rolling. I’d love to know what truly went on in their house. 2 apparent pedophile sons? What kinds of abuse went on in the home, or by people surrounding the family?)
Around the second season, I said on FB that I thought something weird was going on with those people. They way I got shouted down, all because they said the words God and purity over and over again. No one thought it was messed up that the Mom treated her uterus like a clown car and then would make her daughters the parents. The kids weren’t allowed to have lives, friends, freedoms. Everyone thought is was so great because the abuse had a religious chaser. UGH.
Why hasn’t there been a serious racketeering or trafficking investigation into the Duggar family and the system around them? At what point do authorities step in and prioritize the safety and well-being of those kids over reputation, money, or influence?
This is about a pattern and an environment. When a family profits off their children, controls every aspect of their lives, and operates within a closed belief system like Quiverfull, there should be real scrutiny.
Children aren’t property. Being a parent doesn’t give anyone the right to exploit, control, or put them in harm’s way, period.
This is a huge pedo ring that is at least state wide and several generations old. They are all sick and circling wagons. Looks like someone has had enough of this clan of monsters.
I’m sure the news orgs made freedom of information act requests to get the phone call recordings. It’s wild how quickly they got them, they’re supposed to be scrubbed of discussions with lawyers, and maybe case details (??? Might be making that last part up). It’s like how the original police report about Josh and his sisters was released suddenly with no redactions.
The Murdaugh Murders podcast did this for Alex Murdaugh’s jail recordings and were slow walked, but it was very revealing about state of mind.
I hope no one named Duggar has access to those kids. All the hard drives need to be checked, and the court needs to figure out how to talk to Josh’s kids. Anna never let law enforcement interview the kids, they should be able to use that as evidence of neglect and force it.